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SERMONS ON OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS 

AS PARALLELS TO THE GOSPELS 

OF THE CHURCH YEAR. 



W. ZIETHE 



VOL. I. 



Translated by Pastor John Wm. Richards 



THE LUTHERAN LITERARY BOARD |p 

BURLINGTON, IOWA 

1922 



*%$* 



Copyright, 1922 
by R. Neumann 
Burlington, la. 



MAR 1 1 1922 
©GU659114 




PREFACE 

HE Old Testament is still too little known 
in our Christian congregations, and there 
is a relative scarcity of sermons on it. We 
ministers of the Word must lead our peo- 
ple deeper into these Old Testament Scrip- 
tures, and like our Lord on the way to Emmaus, "open 
unto them all the Scriptures, beginning at Moses and 
the Prophets," for in this field many a treasure lies 
hidden. 

Such is the author's endeavor in this volume, and 
he has meanwhile followed the great themes of the 
Church Year, which is a wholesome custom, fitting 
the selected Old Testament passages into its Seasons 
and Sundays. The kind reception given his sermons 
on the Gospels and the Epistles, 12,000 copies of which 
were distributed in six years, filled him with thank- 
fulness to the God of all grace, and gave him courage 
to send out this third book. 

Here, as in all his sermons, he has taken to heart 
the saying of Luther: "Into our churches come poor 
little children, maidens, old men and women, who 
have no use for abstruse doctrines and can not under- 
stand them. Even though they may say: "He gave 
us a fine sermon," if one asks them what it was about, 
they will answer: "I do not know!" So we must 
preach to them in the simplest way, with clear plain 
words, that they may have it in black and white." 



PREFACE 



The Prophet (Isaiah 8, 6) sings of the "Waters 
of Siloah that go softly." May these sermons go out 
thus on their quiet errands before the eyes of the 
Lord, and do honor to Him, who is the One among ten 
thousand altogether lovely, and to His atoning Cross. 
For in none other is there salvation; for neither is 
there any other name under heaven, that is given 
among men, wherein we must be saved. (Acts 4, 12). 
This is their bold confession and joyous testimony. 

Our Saviour sent the man born blind to wash 
in the Pool of Siloam (N. T. form for Siloah), and he 
went and washed and received his sight. Soon after 
he fell in the dust at Jesus' feet, and cried: "Lord, I 
believe," and worshipped Him. (John 9, 38.) May 
the gracious and merciful God bless these sermons, 
until many a blind eye beholds His beauty, and many 
a tongue confesses with John (1, 14) : "We beheld 
His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the 
Father, full of grace and truth." Unto Him be glory 
in the Church in Christ Jesus unto all generations for 
ever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 3, 31.) 

W. Ziethe. 

Berlin, on the Monday after the Reformation 
Festival, 1869. 



THE TRANSLATOR 

has found delight for his own heart, as well as profit- 
able material for his pulpit ministration, in the trans- 
lation of these sermons. He has aimed to reproduce 
their Evangelical soundness and unction in a brief 
and Americanized form, that he may share with 
others the pleasure and profit he has received from 
them. 

In publishing this volume he acknowledges his 
debt to his wife, in whose home church he, as a visitor, 
first acquired a taste for such sermons in their origin- 
al tongue. 

"By cool Siloam's shady rill, 

How fair the lily grows, 
How sweet the breath beneath the hill 

Of 'Sharon's dewy Rose.' 



"0 Thou, whose infant feet were found 

Within Thy Father's shrine! 
Whose years with changeless virtue crowned, 

Were all alike Divine. 

"Dependent on Thy bounteous breath, 

We seek Thy grace alone, 
In childhood, manhood, age, and death, 

To keep us still Thine own. Amen." 

—Old Gen. Council S. S. Book, No. 179. 

John Wm. Richards. 
Pastor at St. Luke's, Philadelphia, Pa. 



ERRATUM. 

On Page 165 name of Sunday read: 
Sexagesima; likewise in headlines to 
Page 174. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
Volume I. 

First Sunday in Advent : Behold ! Thy King Com- 
eth Unto Thee. //. Sam. 6:12-23 9 

Second Sunday in Advent : The Days of Lot, an Ex- 
ample of Christ's Second Coming. Gen. 19: 
12-27 19 

Third Sunday in Advent : Elijah and the Angel, An 
Advent Scene in the Wilderness. I. Kings 19, 
1-8 28 

Fourth Sunday in Advent : The Glory of the Lord 

at the Cave on Horeb. I. Kings 19:8-18 37 

Christmas Day : The Christmas Booklet of Micah. 

Micah 5:2-4- 46 

First Sunday After Christmas: The Outlook of 
the Christian Pilgrim on the Last Sunday of 
the Year. Gen. 28:10-19 54 

New Year (or Sylvester) : God's Name and Bless- 
ing on His Children. Numbers 6:24-26 64 

Second Sunday After Christmas : Israel's Pilgrim- 
age, and Ours Through the New Year. Ex. 
14:9-16 74 

Epiphany Festival : The Glory of the Great Servant 

of the Lord. Is. 42:1-8 83 

First Sunday in Epiphany: Children Are a Gift 

from God and to God. /. Sam. 1 :26-28 94 

Second Sunday in Epiphany : The Blessed House. 

Ps. 128 104 

Third: Sunday in Epiphany: Why Is Our Lord's 
Gracious Purpose Toward Sinners so Often 
Defeated? //. Kings 5:1-14 114 

Fourth Sunday in Epiphany: Noah, an Example 
of Joyful, Patient, Thankful Faith. Gen. 
8:1-20 125 

Fifth Sunday in Epiphany : Our Attitude Toward 

the Enemies of the Gospel. //. Kings 6:15-23. 134 



8 TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Sixth Sunday in Epiphany : The Transfiguration : 

The Great Transfiguration Hour in Moses' Life 

and Ours. Ex. 33:17-23 144 

Septuagesima : God's Thoughts Are Not Man's. 

/. Sam. 16:4-13 154 

Sexagesimal The Dignity of the Divine Word. 

Numb. 13:25-14, 10 165 

Quinquagesima : Behold ! We Go Up to Jerusalem ! 

Is. 63:1-8 175 

First Sunday in Lent : The Holy War Against the 

Serpent. Gen. 3,15 184 

Second Sunday in Lent: A Father's Great Sacri- 
fice. Gen. 22:1-19 193 

Third Sunday in Lent: The Tree of the Cross 

Sweetens the Bitter Waters of Our Troubles. 

Ex. 15:23-26 204 

Fourth Sunday in Lent : The Dry Rod Which Bore 

Fruit. Numb. 17:1-8 214 

Fifth Sunday in Lent: The Brazen Serpent and 

the Tree of Our Redemption. Numb. 21:4-10 223 
Sixth. Palm Sunday. Crossing the Kidron 

//. Sam. 15:23-30 233 

Easter Sunday: Easter, the Day Which the Lord 

Hath Made. Ps. 118:22-25 242 

First Sunday After Easter : Melchizedek, a Type 

of Our Easter King. Gen. 14:14-24 252 

Second Sunday After Easter : The Lord, Our Good 

Shepherd. Ps. 23 261 

Third Sunday After Easter: Christian People 

Sorrowing Yet Always Rejoicing. Ps. 126. . . 270 
Fourth Sunday After Easter : The New Song Unto 

the Lord. Ps. 87 279 

Fifth Sunday After Easter : Solomon's Prayer and 

Ours. /. Kings 3:5-15 288 

The Ascension: Our Lord's Ascension. Ps. 68: 

18-20 298 

Sunday After Ascension : The Holy Day Between 

Ascension and Pentecost. II. Kings 2:8-12 .. . 307 
Pentecost. Whitsunday: How Shall We Keep the 

Pentecost Festival? Joel 2:28-32 316 



FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
Gospel: Matthew 21, 1-9. 

II. Sam. 6, 12-23: "And it was told King David, saying, 
Jehovah hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that per- 
taineth to him, because of the ark of God. And David went and 
brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the 
city of David with joy. * * * And David danced before Jeho- 
vah with all his might; and David was girded with a linen 
ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark 
of Jehovah with shouting and with the sound of trumpet, etc. 

*Hymns: 

4. The Advent of our God. v. If. 

6. O How Shall I Receive Thee. v. If. 
15. Arise, the Kingdom Is at Hand. v. 5f. 

7. Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates, v. 1 and 4. 
321. Approach My Soul, the Mercy-Seat. v. 1. 

Behold! Thy King Cometh Unto Thee. 

That was a joyful procession of which our text 
speaks. The ark had been left in the house of Obed- 
edom, the Gittite, ever since that day, when Uzzah laid 
his hand upon it carelessly as they were hauling it 
home from the Philistines, and was struck dead in his 
lack of reverence for sacred things. Later King David 
brought it to Jerusalem, where on Mount Zion he had 
built a tabernacle for it. All Jerusalem was decorated 
for this occasion, and the streets resounded with trum- 
pet and song. Even the king laid aside his royal robes 
and joined the procession in the simple white robe of 
a priest. 

This too is a joyful procession of which our Gos- 
pel speaks, as our Lord rides for the last time into 

* The numbers are from the 1 Hymnal of the United Lutheran Church. 



10 FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

Jerusalem upon an humble beast of burden, amid the 
palm branches and hosannas. This Gospel tells us 
that we have come to the season of Advent, 
that now the old Church Year is past and we 
have begun a new year with the Lord and His 
Church. This year also begins with the cry : "Blessed 
is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." In it He 
will still come and dwell among His congregation with 
His Holy Word and Sacrament, to bless us with the 
glorious gifts of His grace. And lest we forget how 
real this coming is and how much it means, we picture 
Him as holding His entrance among us anew with the 
beginning of another Church Year. We let the prophet 
Zechariah (9, 9) cry out to us once more: "Rejoice 
greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of 
Jerusalem; behold thy king cometh unto thee; He 
is just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon 
an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass." And in 
our hymns we sing : 

"The Advent of our God 

Our prayers must now employ, 
And we must meet Him on His road 

With hymns of holy joy." No. 4. 

And we ask : 

"0 how shall I receive Thee, 

How greet Thee Lord aright?" No. 6. 

Our Old Testament text will help us to realize, 

first, 

Who This Is That Comes to Us. 

Wherever the ark was, there was the sanctuary 
of Israel. It was the symbol of God's gracious pres- 
ence among His people, the visible throne or footstool 
of their invisible King, who promised: "I will dwell 



FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 11 

among the children of Israel, and will be their God 
(Ex. 29, 45)." Therefore it stood in the Holiest Place 
of their Tabernacle. It was a chest of fine wood cov- 
ered with gold. In it were kept the tables of the Law, 
showing how God had revealed Himself unto Moses 
through His Word; the golden pot filled with manna, 
as a memorial of His goodness to Israel in the desert; 
and the rod of Aaron which budded, as a warning that 
God tolerates no quarrelling in His Church, whose 
things He has established (Num. 17, 10). The lid of 
the ark was of pure gold. On it the blood of the aton- 
ing sacrifice was sprinkled, and it was well called the 
"mercy-seat," because it hid from sight the Law which 
condemns the sinner, and shut it up so that it could not 
speak. Above the mercy seat stood two golden figures 
of cherubim, which was the reason why the Psalmist 
spoke of God as "dwelling between the cherubim," for 
thither He descended in the Shekinah cloud which hid 
Him and yet revealed His presence. 

That was a happy day, then, for Israel, when they 
brought back to Jerusalem the ark, so long in the pos- 
session of their enemies, and were assured that the 
Lord, no more displeased with them, would dwell among 
them as their Covenant God. To this day we love to 
sing from the lofty Psalm (24) they raised, as they 
came with the ark to the gates of Jerusalem : 

"Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates." No. 7. 

Then the watchman on the walls demanded: 

"Who is this King of Glory?" 

And they answered : 

"Jehovah strong and mighty, 
Jehovah mighty in battle. 
Jehovah of hosts, 
„■ He is the King of Glory." ■ \ 



12 FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

But in itself the ark was the poor work of men's 
hands. When God ceased to dwell between the cheru- 
bim and bless His people, because they had forsaken 
Him, then the ark had no blessing for them, and their 
enemies did with it and them as they pleased. Nebuch- 
adnezzer carried away its gold, and burned the ark 
when he set fire to the Temple, (II. Chron. 39, 18f). 

But we have a better token of God's gracious pres- 
ence among us. It is the Son of God, who dweEs among 
us in His means of grace. He it is whom "God set forth 
to be a propitiation" through faith in His blood (Rom. 
3, 25), and what a pity it is the word is not translated 
always as Luther did: "A Mercy-seat." We have the 
Christ, who is the "end of the Law for righteousness," 
and makes an end of it for us believers, as far as its 
condemnation is concerned. We have the Christ, the 
living Bread from Heaven, far better than that old- 
time manna. We have the Christ, the Rod of Jesse, ever 
fair and green and full of fruit. This is the one who 
comes among us, the Lord of Hosts and King of Glory. 
He comes again with each new Church Year as its 
Sundays review the old Gospel story; He makes 
it the power of God unto salvation. He comes in His 
Holy Sacrament, to comfort those who labor and are 
heavy laden. He comes by His Holy Spirit, to call and 
gather us, enlighten, sanctify, and preserve us in the 
true faith. He comes with goods and gifts to bless 
us for time and eternity. And now we ask another 
question : 

Wither Would He Come? 

We are told that the ark was not simply brought 
into Jerusalem, but "set in its place" in the tabernacle. 
What place does our Lord Jesus choose? He does not 



FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 13 

choose Heaven in our Advent season, for He has al- 
ready ascended thither, and sits at the right hand 
of the Father. He does not come to earth, for thus He 
came once of old, when the angels sang : "Glory to God 
and Peace to Men." One of our Advent thoughts 
(though not for this Festival Day) is that He will 
come again among us with glory, with a shout, with 
the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. But 
this is His second coming, when He shall judge the 
quick and the dead. We cannot say that His advent is 
into this sanctuary, for since its consecration as a 
House of God, He already dwells here. Here stands 
His altar, at which we receive the Sacrament of His 
Body and Blood ; the pulpit from which His Gospel is 
proclaimed; the font where our children are baptized 
into His name and made citizens of His Heavenly King- 
dom. He is here already, and so fully, that we may 
well cry with Jacob, "How dreadful (much to be re- 
vered) is this place ! this is none other than the house 
of God, and this is the gate of Heaven." (Gen. 28, 17) . 

What then is the idea of our Advent season? It 
is that He should come in renewed measure into the 
hearts and homes of His brethren, where He belongs. 
This is the "set place" for Him, who asks: "My son, 
give Me thy heart ;" who says : "Behold I stand at the 
door and knock." This is whither He would come, be- 
cause our hearts and homes are not wholly and alto- 
gether His as yet. It may be that we are His in name, 
but like the wicked husbandmen have refused Him the 
fruits of the vineyard. Or we may have half surren- 
dered our hearts to him, but allow the old Enemy, 
the World, and our own Flesh to contend with Him for 
their possession. Thither then He would hold His Ad- 



14 FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

vent in this new Church Year, that by His Holy Spirit 
through the Word and Sacrament He may take com- 
plete possession, "reign supreme and reign alone," un- 
til we can say: "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in 
me." And He comes with rich gifts ; He would bring 
to heart and home righteousness, peace, and joy in the 
Holy Ghost, all we need for body and soul, for time and 
eternity. He would bless us as once of old the house 
of Obed-edom, when the ark rested there. We ask 
therefore in conclusion: 

How Shall I Receive Thee? 

Surely, as David brought up the ark: "with joy, 
with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet." 
He was so glad to have the ark of God here in the 
capital of his kingdom, that "he danced before Jehovah 
with all his might." I need not remark that his dancing 
has nothing in common with our modern dance, some- 
times an indifferent thing and again thoroughly bad 
in its influences, but never the expression of a good 
and holy emotion as here. So Miriam danced and the 
women of Israel, when the Lord overthrew horse and 
rider for Pharaoh in the Red Sea. So Jephthah's 
daughter and her maidens danced to greet her father 
returning victorious from the battle with the Ammo- 
rites. So the women of Israel met Saul after his tri- 
umph over the Philistines, singing: 

"Saul hath slain his thousands, 
But David his tens of thousands." 

As Zacchaeus made haste to come down from the 
sycamore, when our Lord offered to abide in his house, 
so we should receive this Lord of Glory with thankful 
joy. The prophet says: "Rejoice greatly, daughter 
of Zion ; shout daughter of Jerusalem." And so the 



FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 15 

last of our Advent Epistles bids us: "Rejoice in the 
Lord always," and again it says: "Rejoice." Today 
that sacred dance has altogether disappeared, and even 
the solemn procession has fallen into disrepute because 
associated with the carrying in of the host, or pretend- 
ed body of Christ, in the Romish Church. We have far 
less expression for our joy. The trumpets are missing 
as a rule, unless found as some sonorous stop in the 
organ. And as for the shouting, so much of it has 
been mere nervous excitement with no spiritual mean- 
ing, that it is rarely tolerated except in the backwoods. 
We have very few ways left of rejoicing outwardly, 
unless it be in our hymns. All the more then should 
the hallelujahs of the 150th Psalm resound from our 
very hearts: "Praise ye Jehovah. Praise Him 
in the firmament of His Power. * * * Praise 
Him with trumpet sound * * * Praise Him with 
loud cymbals. * * * Let everything that hath 
breath praise Jehovah. Praise ye Jehovah." 

Again we see how David in his joy girded himself 
with a linen ephod, or coat of the priests. He laid 
aside his royal robes for this, to show his God the 
greater honor, to serve Him as a priest when he might 
have ruled as king. There are times when our very 
dress means much. The Evangelical pastor often 
wears, for example, the simple black gown of the 
teacher in the Middle Ages. He and his hearers are 
both helped by such dress. Again there are gaudy 
garments, which make blasphemous claims for their 
priestly wearers. All of us very properly put on our 
"Sunday go-to-meeting clothes" as an outward mark 
of respect for the Lord's Day and House. Here, too, 
there may be a display of fashions which is out of 



16 FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

place, though usually on the part of the ignorant and 
vain. But the "white ephod" for us is found in the 
132d Ps. : 

Arise, O Jehovah, into Thy resting-place; 

Thou, and the ark of Thy strength. 

Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness; 

And let Thy saints shout for joy." 

Isaiah (61, 10) tells of the great High Priest who 
arrays us for His service: "He hath clothed me with 
the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with 
the robe of righteousness." And Peter (I. 2, 9) bids 
us: "Show forth the excellencies of Him who hath 
called you out of darkness," while our Epistle today 
(Rom. 13, 12) cries out: "Let us therefore cast off 
the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of 
light. * * * Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts 
thereof." When we walk like our Lord in all godliness 
and honesty, that is the right dress for His servants, 
and shows our reverence for Him who comes to us in 
Word and Sacrament. 

Furthermore, when the procession with the ark 
had only gone six paces, David began to sacrifice burnt- 
offerings and peace- or thank-offerings. The first were 
a confession of sin, and besought God's forgiveness. 
The others thanked Him for His mercy and truth. And 
David had good reason to do this. From his childhood 
God's holy name had been revealed to him. God had 
guided and guarded him in his youth, and given him 
victory over proud Goliath. He had been saved from 
Saul's plots, called from tending the flock to sit upon 
the throne of Israel, and he had wonderfully enlarged 
his kingdom. How David thanked God for all this 
we read in the seventh chapter. It is after that goodly 



FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 17 

fashion, with burnt-offerings and thank-offerings, that 
we should begin our Church Year, beseeching God to 
forgive us for the sinful thoughts, words, and deeds 
of the old year, and thanking Him for the blessings 
and mercies with which He has crowned it. With such 
sacrifices God is well pleased. 

Would that none among us might fail to greet our 
Advent King with such offerings of praise and incense 
of prayer ! So all Israel welcomed the ark : king and 
people, priest and Levite. May our rulers, like King 
David, think more of being active in the Church and 
honoring God, than of shining in the state. May they 
say with Joshua: 'As for me and my house (official 
family), we will serve the Lord." May all who teach 
and labor in the Church, like the priests and Levites, 
greet Him in the pure garments of faithfulness and 
unselfishness. May all the people, rich and poor, high 
and low, young and old, consecrate themselves anew as 
the "People of His possession." Then shall this be a 
year of blessing for our land. 

But we must not encourage vain hopes; and just 
as little does our text. Not all received the ark with 
joy ; not all put on a white ephod and danced mightily 
before it. Now as then some must be excepted, who 
take no share in these sacrifices of praise to God. One 
soul at least did not rejoice on this day. It was Michal, 
the daughter of Saul, David's wife. As she looked out 
of her window, and saw the king dancing before the 
ark in the simple garb of a priest, she despised him 
in her heart. She was too proud to lay aside her royal 
robes, and put herself on the level of the priests and 
common people ; and she was angry with her husband 
for such undignified behavior. But David did not let 



18 FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

the scolding of his wife disturb his joy. He tells 
her that because the Lord has chosen him above his 
fathers and appointed him prince over Israel, he will 
humble himself a great deal more than this whenever 
he can do honor to the Lord. Those were noble words 
of David's, and with them God was well pleased, who 
declares that He will "exalt the humble, and humble 
those who exalt themselves." "And Michal, the daugh- 
ter of Saul, had no child unto the day of her death." 
There were none to sit after her upon a throne in 
Israel. 

Her only descendants are a spiritual line. Her 
children and children's children of this sorry sort are 
still among us : those who smile contemptuously at the 
faith of others, at our worship of God, and our Chris- 
tian walk and work. We hear many an unkind word 
from such at times; and often as we come home in 
holy joy they meet us with the scornful pride of a 
Michal. Let us answer them, as David did, that be- 
cause of what God has done for us we will in the future 
humble ourselves still more, to serve and sacrifice 
unto "Him that cometh in the name of the Lord." 
Let us say with Paul : "I am not ashamed of the Gos- 
pel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every 
one that believeth." With such a good confession let 
us receive the King of Glory, who holds His entrance 
among us again today. By some He may still be called 
"Despised and Rejected of men," but by us "Beloved 
and Accepted." Amen. 



SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
Gospel: Luke 2,1, 25-36. 

Gen. 19, 12-27; espec. 17: "Escape for thy life; look not 
behind thee, neither stay thou in all the Plain; escape to the 
mountain, lest thou be consumed." 

Hymns. 

4. The Advent of Our God. v. 4. 
3. Hark! An Awful Voice Is Sounding, v. 4. 
10. Once He Came in Blessing, v. 2. 
513. Lo! He comes in Clouds Descending. 
515. Day of Wrath! That Day of Mourning! v. 1 and 7. 

The Days of Lot — An Example of Christ's 
Second Advent. 

The Gospel of the First Advent Sunday shows us 
how the Lord Jesus once came to earth in grace as our 
Saviour. But the Gospel for this Second Advent Sun- 
day shows us how He will one day come in glory to 
be our Judge. That is the day, when the hearts of mil- 
lions will "fail them for fear, and for looking after the 
things that are coming to pass on earth." That is the 
day, when other millions will **lift up their heads with 
joy, because their redemption draweth nigh." "Watch 
ye therefore, and pray always, for ye know neither 
the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh ;" this 
is our Lord's warning to us at the close of today's 
Gospel. Our sermon then imist dwell on our Lord's 
Second Advent, and our preparation for it. But why 
this 0. T. text about Sodom and Gomorrah? What has 
that to do with the Second Advent? Jude in his Epistle 
sets these cities before us as an example of those "suf- 
fering the vengeance of eternal fire." And Peter 



20 SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

(II. 2, 6) says: "God made them an ensample unto 
those who should thereafter live ungodly." And our 
Lord speaks of how in the days of Lot (Luke 17, 28f ) : 
"They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they 
planted, they builded; but in the day that Lot went 
out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from 
heaven, and destroyed them all." And then he adds: 
"After the same manner shall it be in the day that 
the Son of Man is revealed." But Lot escaped, and so 
we may well say with our Epistle today (Rom. 15, 4) : 
"Whatsoever things were written aforetime were writ- 
ten for our learning, that through patience and through 
comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope." In 
Sodom and Gomorrah the N. T. truth is set forth as an 
O. T. object lesson. Here, too, we have a foretaste of 
our Lord's second coming to judge the world. 

A Doctrine of Unquestionable Truth. 

The Son of Man "will come to judge the quick 
and the dead," as we confess in the Creed. He will 
come "in the clouds," "with power and great glory," 
"with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the 
trump of God." "The dead shall hear His voice and 
come forth." "The Heavens shall pass away with a 
great noise, the elements be dissolved with great heat, 
and the earth and the works therein shall be burned up 
(II. Peter 3, 10)." The great Judge shall sit upon the 
throne of His glory, and all nations shall be gathered 
before Him. The judgment books shall be opened, 
wherein are recorded the deeds, words, and even the 
thoughts of men. To some He will say: "Come ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom," but to 
others : "Depart from me, ye accursed, into everlasting 
fire." 



SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 21 

This Second Advent is a part of the Apostles' 
Creed, an article about which all the Church agrees. Yet 
there are unbelievers in our day, who deny this doc- 
trine and laugh at it. They cannot understand how 
the earth, which they see about them with its moun- 
tains and seas, towns and cities, can be destroyed by 
fire. They think that the researches of science de- 
mand a different kind of end for the world, though 
some great scientists show that this end also is possible, 
and our moon is a burnt-out world. There are mock- 
ers, just as Peter (I. 3, 3f) predicted, "in the last day 
scoffers would come, saying "Where is the promise of 
His coming, for since the fathers fell asleep all things 
continue as they were from the beginning of the world." 

Thus today the very thing happens which we find 
4000 years before in Sodom. The angels said unto 
Lot: "Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law, and 
thy sons, and thy daughters, and whomsoever thou 
hast in the city, bring them out of the place, for we 
will destroy this place." Lot believed their word, and 
ran to his sons-in-law with the cry: "Up, get you out 
of this place ; for Jehovah will destroy the city." "But 
he seemed unto his sons-in-law as one that mocked." 
They laughed at the old man for bothering himself 
about such foolishness. And the others in Sodom to 
whom they told it as a joke, laughed with them. They 
refused to be disturbed by such fables. Lot had always 
stood aloof from their manner of life, and they were 
accustomed to mock at the old man who would not 
share in their pleasures of sin. So after a good laugh 
they went to bed in good spirits. The night passed, 
and the day began to dawn. A summer shower seemed 
to come up suddenly. The thunder rolled, and the 



22 SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

lightning flashed now, as they had never seen it before. 
Fire fell in great masses upon the earth, and as the 
ground there was full of petroleum springs, the very- 
earth began to blaze about them, until where once that 
valley had lain, lovely as the garden of God, there was 
left only the barren shores of the Dead Sea. To this 
day that wasted region, and that lake in which no fish 
can live, declares how "This world passes away, and 
the lusts thereof, but the Word of God abideth for- 
ever." The words the angels spake to Lot that night 
were true, and the scoffers found this out soon enough 
to their sorrow and destruction. 

So also this prophecy of Christ's Second Advent, 
though questioned, remains an unquestionable truth, 
no matter who may try to laugh it away. Let him 
bring forth his doubts and objections ; here we rest on 
God's Word. Even David sings in the 102d Psalm : 

"Of old Thou didst lay the foundation of the earth; 

And the heavens are the work of Thy hands. 

They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure; 

Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; 

As a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed; 

But Thou art the same, 

And Thy years have no end." 

And Isaiah (51, 6) speaks of "the heavens vanish- 
ing in smoke, and the earth waxing old as a garment." 
In our Gospel our Lord says : "Heaven and earth shall 
pass away." And John in his vision sees "a new heaven 
and a new earth" replacing the old. There are many 
more such prophecies, so that on this solid ground of 
"it is written" stands this truth which is unshakable. 

A Message of Saving Grace. 

appears also in this story of Lot. Peter (II. 2, 7ff) 
gives us a goodly record of him, calling him righteous. 



SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 23 

Lot, and speaking of how he vexed his righteous soul 
with the ungodly deeds of Sodom. Yet there was much 
in Lot which was faulty even in the eyes of men. He 
acted foolishly in separating himself from his uncle 
Abraham, a faithful teacher and safe leader ; in pitch- 
ing his tent toward Sodom, because it lay in a fertile 
valley ; and there in Sodom) he did not play the manly 
part of a strong, clean soul, in that last night. We find 
also that his daughters were betrothed to men of that 
ungodly city. In spite of the angels' warning of judg- 
ment to come, he miserably delayed and did not flee 
in haste. He, too, had a mild attack of their contagious 
unbelief, and his heart clung to Sodom even while the 
judgments of God were descending upon it. So when 
the angel brought them out of the city, and bade them 
flee to the mountains, he stops like a spoiled child to 
complain that that some evil may overtake them there, 
and to beg that the little town of Zoar be spared for 
his sake. These are faults which even human eyes dis- 
cover in righteous Lot. How must he have appeared 
before the holy and righteous God, of whom David 
writes (Ps. 143, 2) : "In Thy sight shall no man living 
be justified;" and Job says: "He putteth no trust in 
His saints," and "The heavens are not clean in His 
sight." 

Yet faulty Lot was saved, saved for Abraham's 
sake, whom God remembered (v. 29), and sent Lot out 
of the midst of the overthrow." The message the angels 
brought Lot was one of saving grace. For that reason 
they cried : "Escape for thy life ; look not behind thee, 
neither stay thou in all the plain ; escape to the moun- 
tain, lest thou be consumed." In that same grace the 
Lord plans to save his wife and daughters and their 



24 SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

Sodomite husbands, and all that belongs to him in 
Sodom. By that grace the judgment upon Sodom is 
held back, as the angel expressly says: "Haste thee, 
escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be 
come thither (to Zoar)." In grace also Zoar was 
spared : "I will not overthrow this city for which thou 
hast spoken." Lot himself, and all that is here related 
about how he was saved, is a story of God's grace and 
mercy. 

And so is also the prophecy of the Second Advent. 
Of the men of our world we must confess just what 
the angels said of the cities of the Plain: "Their cry 
is great, and their sin is very grievous." This earth 
from the time it was stained with the blood of Abel 
shed by his own brother's hand, has been crying to God 
because of the misdeeds of men. The sun protests 
against abominable things it has to witness; and the 
moon because of deeds of shame done in its shadowy 
light. The dumb creatures appeal to God because of 
the cruelty they often suffer at the hands of men. And 
the angel will one day cry out to Him that sitteth on the 
cloud : "Send forth Thy sickle, and reap ; for the har- 
vest of the earth is ripe" (Rev. 14, 15)." The holy 
and just God cannot long postpone the Day of His 
Wrath. But as of old He was willing to spare Sodom 
if ten righteous men could be found in it, so now the 
storms of His judgment upon an evil generation tarry, 
because of His believing children who dwell among 
them. As He spared Israel in spite of their idolatry 
before the golden calf, because Moses interceded for 
them, so He delays the great and dreadful day, because 
His Son intercedes for us as our merciful High Priest. 
The plea of the Heavenly Gardner for the unfruitful 



SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 25 

fig tree: "Let it stand this year also," stays the axe 
of God uplifted in judgment. Therefore Peter is right 
when he says (II. 3, 9) : "The Lord is not slack con- 
cerning His promise, as some count slackness; but is 
long-suffering to youward, not wishing that any should 
perish, but that all should come to repentance." 

Thus the Advent unto Judgment turns out after 
all to be only another part of the Gospel of saving 
grace. The best of us are like Lot, ha!lf -hearted, not 
loving God with all our heart and strength, but led 
astray in many ways by the world and its lusts, by the 
children of this world and their ways. But we shall be 
saved in spite of our weakness. Our Saviour pleads 
for us, who have been redeemed by His blood and bap- 
tized into His name. We are His and shall not perish. 
Therefore He sends us this message of saving grace, 
even as the angels were sent to Lot, that we may "watch 
and pray," "flee from the wrath to come," and "be 
counted worthy to escape these things." But here, too, 
there is 

A Word of Solemn Warning. 

Lot and his daughters were saved, but what be- 
came of his sons-in-law who laughed at the angel's mes- 
sage? They lie buried, buried beneath the ruins of 
Sodom, the booty of an eternal destruction because of 
their unbelief. And what of Lot's wife? She left the 
city-gate with her husband and daughters. God's grace 
reached out a helping hand to her. She was almost 
saved. But then she stood still and looked back ! Was 
it in unbelief about God's keeping His threat, or be- 
cause her heart hung upon her household goods left 
behind, or in pity for those who perished, or in curi- 
osity to look into God's judgments? What feeling 



26 SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

moved her to this act of disobedience we will never 
know. Neither will we know just what happened to 
her. All we are told is that an evil death came upon 
her. She was cut off suddenly in the midst of her sin. 
When they sought her after a few days, they found her 
dead and encrusted with salt, like the objects today 
about the Dead Sea. 

By the shore of that Sea there stand today many 
pillars and blocks of salt, and one of the Apocryphal 
Books speaks of such a pillar as the "monument of an 
unbelieving soul." Whether this then still marked 
the spot where she died we do not know, but of this 
we are sure : the Lord Jesus says : "Remember Lot's 
wife," and makes her fate a solemn warning for us. 
She was almost saved, and yet lost forever, that is 
what He means. 

Yes, here there are four warnings. "Escape for 
thy life." That is the one thing for which a man will 
give all he possesses. It is the undying soul which we 
dare not lose to gain the whole world; and which 
ought to be our first and great concern, though we often 
deal with it as though it were the last and least. Again 
the angel said : "Neither stay in all the plain." We are 
to have no fellowship at all with this unbelieving world, 
but stand as far from her as we can, and the judg- 
ment which hangs over her. "Look not behind thee," 
was the third solemn warning. For, "He that putteth 
his hand to the plough and looketh back is not fit for 
the Kingdom of God." Paul says: "Forgetting the 
things that are behind, I press toward the mark 
(goal) for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus." 
and finally the angel said : "Haste thee, escape thither" 
(to Zoar). We, too, have a city like that of which 






SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 27 

Isaiah sings (26, 1) : "A strong city. Salvation will 
God appoint for its walls and bulwarks. Open the 
gates that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth 
may enter in." Into that city we enter, when we put on 
the righteousness of Christ our Saviour, through the 
means of grace and our life and work in the Christian 
Church. That is why we are to turn our backs upon 
this World and its alluring temptations, and let these 
things have no power over us. Then when our Lord 
comes again, we can give account of ourselves with joy 
and not with trembling. The Lord help us to believe 
this doctrine of unquestionable truth, to accept its 
message of saving grace, and to heed this solemn 
warning which accompanies it. Amen. 



THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
Gospel: Matthew 11, 2-10. 

I. Kings 19, 1-8: "And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had 
done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the 
sword. * * * But he himself went a day's journey into the 
wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and 
he requested for himself that he might die, and said: It is enough; 
now O Jehovah, take away my life; for I am not better than my 
fathers, etc. 

Hymns: 

8. Comfort, Comfort Ye My People, v. 1. 

9. Hark, the Glad Sound, the Saviour Comes, v. 4f. 

14. The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns, v. 6. 

15. Arise, the Kingdom Is at Hand. v. 2f. 
349. O Morning Star! So Pure, So Bright, v. 2f. 
406. Father, Whate'er of Earthly Bliss. 

412. Come Ye Disconsolate, Where'er Ye Languish, v. 1 and 3. 
348. Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go. v. 3f. 

Elijah mid the Angel. An Advent Scene in the 
Wilderness. 

The season of Advent, in which we find ourselves, 
has a twofold meaning, and calls forth two kinds of 
sermons. It is first of all a time of holy joy. We hear 
the gracious message: "Rejoice greatly, daughter 
of Zion," etc. We think now of Him who came into the 
world to save sinners, and stands among us in His 
Word and Sacraments with all His goods and gifts. 
The joyful Christmastime is at the door, and its sun- 
shine streams out into the days before it. In the words 
of the first Advent Gospel we cry : "Hosanna ! Blessed 
is He that cometh in the name of the Lord ;" and with 
the last Advent Epistle we bid our souls "Rejoice in 
the Lord always." 



THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 29 

But this is also a season of solemn preparation. 
Throughout these weeks and days there re-echoes that 
cry : "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths 
straight." Jesus Christ, the King of Glory, would en- 
ter our hearts, and we must make room there for Him. 
In the olden Church, Advent was a time of fasting and 
prayer, when worldly pleasures were laid aside to 
make ready for Christ's coming. The first Advent 
Epistle warns us that "Now it is high time to awake 
out of sleep, etc." And the second Advent Gospel pic- 
tures to us the last and glorious coming of Christ, and 
closes with the admonition: "Watch ye and pray al- 
ways, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all 
these things that shall come to pass, and to stand be- 
fore the Son of Man." 

There are two great thoughts in this season, and 
two great figures which express them. One is our 
"King, just and having salvation, lowly and riding on" 
an humble beast of burden ; the other is the stern fig- 
ure of John the Baptist, he of whom it is written : "Be- 
hold, I send My messenger before Thy face, who shall 
prepare Thy way before Thee" (Mai. 3, 1). And here 
in our O. T. text we find those same thoughts of solem- 
nity and joy with John the Baptist's familiar back- 
ground of the wilderness for this older Advent sCene. 

Elijah Is Despondent. 

Of all the prophets who lived from Moses to John 
Elijah was the greatest in word and work. He did 
what he could to restore the honor of Jehovah among 
his idol-loving people. By prayer he closed the heav- 
ens, so that here was no rain or dew for three years 
and six months. He called down fire from Heaven 



THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 



upon his sacrifice on Mount Carmel, that all the people 
might know the true and living God. He slew by the 
brook Kishon 450 priests of Baal, who had been mis- 
leading God's people. After that he prayed the heav- 
ens open, so that a refreshing rain fell upon the 
parched fields. He shook King Ahab's evil heart by 
such words and works, until even he was ready to for- 
sake the idol Baal and worship Elijah's God who made 
heaven and earth. Ahab went home and spoke of this 
to his wife Jezebel ; but all that Elijah said and did had 
only hardened her heathen heart, and embittered her 
against him. She sent a "messenger unto Elijah, say- 
ing, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make 
not thy life as one of them by tomorrow about this 
time." 

This threat unnerved Elijah. Hitherto we read: 
"The Word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying "Do 
this or that;" and he let himself be guided fearlessly 
by God's word and will. But now, without stopping to 
inquire of the Lord, "he arose, and went for his life, 
and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and 
left his servant there. But he himself went a day's 
journey into the wilderness." He seems to have no plan 
except just to flee from the vengeance of the blood- 
thirsty Jezebel; no goal in view, but to escape out of 
her kingdom into Judah where the Word of God was 
still reverenced, and His prophets lived in safety. Only 
when he came to far-away Beersheba did he stop in 
his flight, leaving his attendant and journeying on 
alone to throw himself down under the juniper tree, 
and cry : "It is enough, now, Jehovah, take away my 
life." 

What is it that so unmans him, and makes him flee 



THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 31 

in this aimless fashion. If it were another man, we 
would say that he fled in fear of his life before this 
weak and changeable king, his bitter, bloodthirsty part- 
ner, and this people who one day shouted their approval 
and the next raged against him as a mob. But it was 
not this fear which upset Elijah. He, too, was no "reed 
shaken by the wind, no man in soft clothing," courting 
the favor of the king. One day during the drought, 
Ahab met him and said : "Is it thou, thou troubler of 
Israel?" And Elijah told him to his face: "I have not 
troubled Israel; but thou and thy father's house, in 
that ye have forsaken the commandments of Jehovah, 
and thou hast followed the Baalim," (18, 18). And on 
Mount Carmel, Elijah demanded of that fickle multi- 
tude: "How long go ye limping between the two sides? 
If Jehovah be God, follow Him ; but if Baal, then fol- 
low him" (18, 21). That was not the kind of a man 
who would flee into the desert, and throw himself down 
under a juniper tree, simply because he was afraid to 
lose his life. 

This Elijah had spared no toil and trouble, avoid- 
ed no danger and persecution in trying to lead Israel 
back to their deserted God. He could well say that 
"zeal for God's house had eaten him up." Up to this 
time he had leaned upon the promises of God, and be- 
lieved He would triumph over the unbelief and idolatry 
of Israel. But now at last he feels he has hoped and 
labored in vain. No vision of better days cheers him. 
He may have "put his trust in princes," and if so, Ahab 
utterly failed him,. He sees on all sides only the vic- 
tory of heathen ideas and unclean customs, the triumph 
of Baal. No results have followed his preaching and 
miracles. He has come to look upon himself as a use- 



32 THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

less tool which God has cast away, as one deposed from 
office. After all he has done and borne, the Lord does 
not own the work of His servant, but lets his enemies 
triumph over him. This is the reason for that despond- 
ent cry : "Take away my life ; for I am not better than 
my fathers." 

He wished that he might die. He does not speak 
these words as many do today, who are weary of a life 
of sin, and forget that death will only set them down be- 
fore the judgment-bar; neither as Job, when he cursed 
the day of his birth in his misery ; nor as Jonah, when 
the gourd withered in which he had so much pleasure. 
It is a great temptation into which Elijah has fallen, 
because his work seems a failure, and he himself dis- 
credited of God. And many another faithful witness 
for God has felt the same way under such discourage- 
ments, and like Elijah wished he were dead. The great 
prophet Jeremiah (20, 7, 14 and 18) complains that he 
has testified for God, and the only result is that he is 
laughed at and mocked on every side. He too asks why 
he was born, if he must end his days in shame, and 
curses the day he saw the light. And this is the mood 
of John as he sits in prison, and waits day after day 
in vain for God's Kingdom to come after his own ideas. 
In his despair he asks the very Christ : "Art Thou He 
that should come, or look we for another?" He over- 
looks those six marks of the Messiah, who makes the 
blind see, etc. And likewise the great reformer Luther 
writes at the close of his sad life: "I have lived long 
enough. God grant me in mercy my end. For all 
things grow worse, and the Devil reigns on earth. I 
do not wish to live any longer." He, too, has forgotten 
how God's seed must lie long beneath the crusted earth 



THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 33 

until the rain softens it, and then the blade appears at 
last. These despondent words came from the same 
man who wrote for us : 

"The Word they still shall let remain, 

And not a thank have for it." No. 195. 

But what place has such despondency among our 
Advent rejoicing? We are thinking now of what God 
has done for us in the old Church Year, how faithfully 
He has ministered to us in Word and Sacrament. But 
we, too, think now of how little fruit all this has 
brought forth in the lives of our church and people. 
That is the solemn question confronting us in this 
Advent season. When the pastor has striven with all 
faithfulness to preach the Word, and others too have 
waited upon their office in the congregation, we natur- 
ally ask what fruit we are to have for this. It is not 
enough for zealous servants of God, that the congrega- 
tion has met its expenses, and continues about as it 
was. We long to see a great advance in spiritual 
growth, many virtues and graces to reward our efforts 
like the rich fruits in our gardens. If some walk in 
ways of sin, and many a heart brings forth only leaves 
and no fruit, we, too, cast ourselves down under the 
juniper tree, with the despairing feeling that we and 
our work are failures and the sooner it is over the bet- 
ter. 

And you fathers and mothers, striving to bring 
up your children in the nurture and admonition of the 
Lord, are you not heavy hearted when they go wrong, 
and all your counsels, prayers, and tears seem in vain ? 
You teachers in the school, do you not often feel like 
discouraged Elijah and John, when in the foolish hearts 
of childhood there seems room for every thing else but 



34 THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

the knowledge of salvation and eternal life in Christ, 
and your instruction seems poured out as water upon 
the sand. Yes, how many a striking parallel we find 
among us, to these Advent scenes in the wilderness. 
Our own, or others' unfaithfulness to us, our sins and 
misfortunes, or theirs, cast us down under the juni- 
per tree with Elijah, crying: "It is enough; now, O 
Jehovah, take away my life ; for I am not better than 
my fathers." We wish in our discouragement that the 
struggles of our life were over. 

The Angel Comforts Elijah. 

Weak and weary, Elijah falls asleep under the 
shadow of the juniper tree. And behold the angel 
comes and touches him, saying: "Arise and eat." He 
looks about him and finds a cake baked on the coals, 
and a jug of water at his head. Refreshed by these, he 
begins to take heart again. Even there in the wilder- 
ness, there is manna, and in the hardest bits of our pil- 
grimage God has times of refreshing for us. These 
have not failed us in the year past. How often we have 
come into His House weary and troubled, and found 
comfort in the hymns we sang, or the prayers that rose 
to His throne. These lifted us up out of our despond- 
ency. The Gospel and the Sacrament sent us home 
with a very different spirit from that in which we came. 
We "lifted up our eyes to the hills of help ;" our dis- 
couragement vanished; and the whole world assumed 
a brighter hue. 

In this new Church Year we will also find by our 
side the "cake baken on the ashes, and the cruse of 
water." It is Advent. Our King comes unto us ! Here 
is more than an angel, the Son of the living God Him- 



THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 35 

self ! And Christmas is at hand ; soon we will hear the 
glad tidings which none but angels are fit to proclaim : 
"Unto you is born this day a Saviour, which is Christ 
the Lord." Here is He who is the very Bread from 
Heaven and Water of Life for us. These words are 
more than pretty figures of speech. Let us eat and 
drink of Him by faith, and make Him our Saviour. Then 
we may lay ourselves down in peace in His everlasting 
arms, and rest as Elijah slept at last so peacefully un- 
der the juniper, for, 

"This is the Christ, our God and Lord, 

Who in all need shall aid afford; 

He will Himself our Saviour be, 

From all our sins to set us free." No. 19. 

But the angel comes again, and says : "Arise and 
eat, because the journey is too great for thee." Elijah 
had said : "It is enough ;" but God says : "No ! It is not 
enough, Elijah. You have more to do." Elijah was 
not a worn-out tool, and his labor was not in vain. 
God puts a journey before him, and has an errand for 
him to run, for which He will give him fresh courage 
and strength. He rises from his sleep, eats and drinks 
and in the strength of that food goes on for forty days 
and nights, "until he reaches Horeb the mount of 
God." 

A new Church Year lies before us, a "great jour- 
ney." God has use for us, and would carry on His 
work in and through us. Our calling, whether it be in 
the church or school, shop or store, city or field, in the 
busy round of public life, or the quiet circle of the home, 
is the way appointed for us. And it is God's way too, 
which He will walk with us in the New Year. If we 
are to bear the heat and burden oft its day, we need His 



36 THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

refreshing grace. If sorrows are there, still it is our 
way, and His way also by our side. This thought, 
that it is His way, and that He walks it with us, will 
help us over its desert stretches. It may only go on 
for some of us a few years more, yet is it a great 
journey; great in its end and object, for through 
these experiences God's Kingdom is coming to us, and 
through us to others; and in it we shall be greatly 
strengthened, if we walk it with God ; and shall reach 
the great and blessed goal He has fixed for us. 

Therefore we must "arise and eat," lay hold on the 
Living Bread and Water of Life He offers us in the 
Christ who is ours. His Word will guide us, and His 
Holy Spirit strengthen and keep us. His rod and 
staff shall comfort us, and we will fear no evil because 
He is with us. So we will go on, not forty days only, 
but many of us forty years and longer, if He please. 
And we, too, will come at length to the "mount of 
God," the Heavenly Jerusalem, the general assembly 
and church of the first-born, who are enrolled in 
Heaven (Heb. 12, 22). And there we shall drink of 
the water of life and eat of the hidden manna (Rev. 
2, 17) He will give to him that overcometh. And our 
earthly hosannas and cries to the Lord for help shall 
be changed into hallelujahs of Heavenly praise. 
Amen. 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
Gospel: John 1, 19-28. 



I. Kings 19, 8-18: "And he arose and did eat and drink, 
and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty 
nights unjto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither 
unto a cave, and lodged there; and behold the Word of Jehovah 
came unto him, and He said unto him, What doest thou here, 
Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah, the 
God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy 
covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets 
with jthe sword: and I, even I only, am left; and they seek 
my life, to take it away. And He said, Go forth, and stand on 
the mount before Jehovah. And behold Jehovah passed by, 
and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and break in 
pieces the rocks before Jehovah; but Jehovah was not in the 
wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but Jehovah was 
not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but 
Jehovah was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small 
voice, etc." 

Hymns: 

10. Once He came in Blessing, v. 2. 

8. Comfort, Comfort Ye, My People, v. 2. 
346. Thou hidden Love of God, Whose Height, v. 3. 

2. On Jordan's Banks the Herald's Cry. v. If. 
171. Thy Word, Lord, Like Gentle Dews. v. 2. 

The Glory of the Lord at the Cave on Horeb. 

Our Gospel sets before us again the figure of John 
the Baptist. He is the Elijah of the New Testament. 
There are many points of resemblance between these 
two prophets. In the opening chapter of II. Kings 
(v. 8) Ahaziah's messengers describe Elijah, who met 
them with a rebuke on their way to the oracle of Baal- 
zebub : "He was a hairy man (in rough, shaggy man- 
tle) , and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins," 
which is exactly John's raiment of camel's hair (Mat. 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 



3, 4) and rawhide girdle. And they were as much 
alike in their spirit as in their dress. In the next to 
the last verse of the 0. T. John is called by the name of 
his prototype: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the 
prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah 
come." And in the N. T. the angel foretells his birth 
and work: "And many of the children of Israel shall 
he turn unto the Lord their God. And he shall go be- 
fore His (Christ's) face in the spirit and power of 
Elijah, etc." (Luke 1, 16f ) . Our Lord says of John (Mat. 
11, 14) : "And if ye are willing to receive it, this is 
Elijah, that is to come." And when the disciples re- 
mind Him after His Transfiguration, that Elijah is ex- 
pected before the Kingdom of his Glory begins on earth 
(Mat. 17, 10), He replies: "Elijah indeed cometh and 
shall restore all things : but I say unto you that Elijah 
is come already, and they knew him not, but did unto 
him whatsoever they would." 

So if we would find an 0. T. parallel for our Gos- 
pel, it must be this narrative of Elijah on Mount Horeb. 
It, too, is an Advent scene, and sets us asking how we 
should draw near to the Christmas Day. The Lord 
bless it unto our hearts, that we may keep the feast 
aright. Its first answer is, 

With Humble Repentance for Our Sins. 

In the strength of that food he found under the 
juniper tree, Elijah went on forty days and nights to 
Horeb. Here God had appeared unto Moses and called 
him to lead his people out of Egypt. And here on 
Israel's journey through the wilderness, Moses brought 
water out of the rock, and the Amalakites were dis- 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 39 

comfited while Aaron and Hur upheld his hands in 
prayer. 

But now we are thinking of what took place in the 
stable at Bethlehem, which in all probability was a 
cave in the rocks like many other stables of the Orient. 
So We will ask only about this cave on Horeb, where 
Elijah beheld the glory of the Lord. "What doest thou 
here?" is the question God asked of Elijah, and he 
could truthfully answer, that he had spared no toil or 
trouble, and single-handed he had risked all manner of 
dangers to restore the altars and worship of the true 
and living God, and that he alone survived of God's 
prophets. 

That same question God asks of us, as we 
draw near Christmas and the end of the year, and He 
has a right to do so. Behind us lies the Old Year, in 
which His Gospel has been proclaimed to us, and He 
has borne so patiently with us, and blessed us so 
abundantly. But as we look back upon it, can we say 
with Elijah: "I have been very jealous for Jehovah 
the God of hosts"? His answer humbles us. Some 
among us have done nothing for the Lord. They have 
looked out well for the body, provided for their homes, 
and followed their callings. But amid all these earthly 
cares they have neglected the service of God. Some 
have done a little for the Lord. They have spent a 
little time, strength, and money in His service, but 
have not done what they could and should. And if 
there is anything theLord hates, it is this half-heart- 
edness. He says (Rev. 3,j 15) : "I would thou wert cold 
or hot. So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot 
nor cold, I will spew (or spit) thee out of My mouth." 
Of course, there are many among us who have been 



40 FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

"jealous for the Lord," and busily at work for Him. 
But they will be the first to realize how their works 
have been soiled in many ways by sins, and that 
they have fallen short of the good they would like to 
have done in thought, word and deed. 

So this question: "What doest thou here?" bows 
us down in humble repentance on this last Advent Sun- 
day, as we review the past year. It bids us fall down 
in the dust before the Manger, and confess with Paul 
(Titus 3, 15) : "Not by works done in righteousness, 
which we did ourselves, but according to His mercy 
He saved us, through the washing of regeneration 
and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which He poured out 
upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour ; that, 
being justified by His grace, we might be made heirs 
according to the hope of eternal life." This is the 
right frame of mind for Christmas, when with all our 
hearts we poor sinners long for the great Christmas 
gift of God. Though many other gifts of earth may be 
lacking, yet it will be a blessed Christmas for 
him, upon whom the Father in Heaven bestows His Be- 
loved Son, and unto whom He is born as his Saviour. 
Again, we keep Christmas 

With Thankful Praise for -God's Grace. 

And now Elijah goes forth at God's command, and 
stands in the door of the cave. Mighty signs and won- 
ders pass before his eyes. The storm wind rends the 
mountain, and breaks the very rocks in pieces. The 
earthquake follows, and the fire, and at last the still 
small voice, as when the stars shine out after the 
storm, and evening zephyrs whisper in our ears. Some 
have thought these signs were a rebuke for Elijah, 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 41 

because he tried to build up God's ruined Kingdom in 
Israel in so rough and stormy a way. But they are 
meant rather to comfort and instruct him. They tell 
him God is about to take a hand in this struggle with 
evil, where Elijah has accomplished so little. There- 
fore he is sent to anoint Hazael (v. 15) king over 
Syria, who shall be like a storm wind falling on Israel 
from without, blasting her cities and slaying her chil- 
dren. And Jehu he is to anoint king over Israel, who 
will shake the land like an earthquake from within. 
It was he, you recall, who caused Jezebel to be thrown 
from the window, slew the sons of wicked Ahab and 
the remaining priests of Baal, cast down the idols in 
their temples, and thus fearfully avenged the insult 
put upon God's altars. And in his own stead, Elijah 
was to anoint Elisha, who should come upon that land 
and people as a fire, carrying on Elijah's work with 
such zeal that before him the godless were as stubble 
before a forest fire. Thus Elijah is assured that God 
will visit and judge this people, with whom he could 
do nothing. But he is also convincingly told, that 
when their iniquities have been purged away by these 
judgments, there will come times of refreshing from 
the Lord, like the gentle voice he heard on Horeb. That 
was a wonderful glimpse into the councils of God. 
which He gave here to Elijah. God saw further into the 
future than these few years ahead. The whole era of 
the Law was such a storm-wind, earthquake, and fire ; 
and after that 0. T. Dispensation came the "still small 
voice" of the Gospel. 

We can understand far better than Elijah did on 
Horeb, how after God has rebuked sin, He will speak 
peace to His people. For we look into the cave at 



42 FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

Bethlehem, and hear there the voices of the New Dis- 
pensation. John declares (1, 14) : "The Word became 
flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, 
the glory as of the Only-Begotten from the Father) , full 
of grace and truth." And Paul writes (Titus 2, 11) : 
"The grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation 
to all men." Who among us has not heard the still small 
voice which speaks to us in the Silent Night from the 
Manger. The angel brings tidings of great joy : "There 
is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, 
who is Christ the Lord." And the Heavenly host sing : 
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among 
men in whom He is well pleased" (Luke 2, llff ) . 

He who would hear more of this still small voice 
let him note how the Lord Jesus goes His way through 
His earthly life, meek and lowly, gracious and merci- 
ful, the Friend of sinners. Mark how He bears poverty 
and persecution, hatred and scorn, and yet never 
wearies of loving, praying for, and blessing men. 
Though He suffers and dies at their hands, His hands 
are lifted in a benediction upon our race as He ascends 
to Heaven. All this is but the voice of the Gospel, re- 
vealing the "grace of God that bringeth salvation" to 
all men. 

And though there is no more any dispensation of 
the Law, those wonders Elijah saw on Horeb have an 
important lesson for us. It was necessary for the 
storm-wind of the Law to clear the air, before the Gos- 
pel voice, like a sighing zephyr, could be heard. Such 
messengers must still go before the Lord, if there is 
to be room for Him in the hearts of men. John the 
Baptist must always "prepare the way of the Lord" 
before Him. First the storms of the Law must sweep 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 



over the soul, leveling the hills of pride, and breaking 
the rocks of defiant self-righteousness. First the 
earthquake must set our hearts shaking beneath the 
curse of God's violated Law. First the fire must come, 
the consuming, purifying fire of repentance, and de- 
stroy all that is worldly, unholy, and ungodly in our 
hearts. And only then can come the still small voice 
of the Holy Spirit, who brings us pardon and peace; 
the still small voice of Jesus our Saviour, who says: 
"Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee." 

Elijah wrapped his face in his mantle when he 
heard that voice, and felt the presence of the Lord. 
And the very seraphim, who wait upon Him, cover 
their faces (Is. 6, 2) with one of their three pairs of 
wings, before the majesty of His grace and the won- 
ders of His love. So, too, must we look into the Man- 
ger at Bethlehem, where the Christ Child lies. It is 
with reverent step and thankful speech that we draw 
near to the gracious Christmas Day. Again we come 

With Joyful Hope for Christ's Kingdom on Earth. 

That was a mighty encouragement for Elijah, 
when God told him that there "were still 7,000 in Israel 
who had not bowed the knee to Baal." He had lament- 
ed: "I, even I only, am left." But God answers now: 
"No! You are not alone! As you walk, I will take 
your hand, and by your side there will be 7,000 to 
keep you company, who also walk in the ways of their 
fathers and keep My covenant." That assurance was 
like a cheering ray of light for Elijah in all the dark 
days to come. Even so Isaiah was comforted in the 
days of Israel's backsliding (10, 21) : "A remnant 
shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the 



44 FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

mighty God." And Paul walks in that same hope, that 
as there were the 7,000 in Elijah's day, "Even so then 
at this present time also there is a remnant according 
to the election of grace." 

We, too, need this light of hope. The more thank- 
ful we are for the grace of God in the Christmas 
story, the more it pains us to see the indifference of 
so many. Though baptized into the name of the Lord 
Jesus, they have their pleasure in these days only in 
the gifts of men and the things of the world. For the 
true Christmas joy and the precious gift of the Christ, 
they care nothing. Many walk in this holy season as 
the open enemies of Christ and His Gospel, giving 
themselves up bodily to the lusts of the flesh and the 
service of the devil. Sometimes in a whole household 
there seems to be but one (and often a child there) 
who waits for and welcomes the Christ Child ! And in 
a whole great congregation how few there are who 
gather to worship Him on this Day we celebrate in 
honor of His birth ! 

Therefore we, too, will remember with joy the 
7,000 faithful ones of Elijah's time, and the remnant 
God preserved in the days of Isaiah and Paul, and 
through all the bloody persecutions of the early Church, 
through the horrors of the Inquisition, 400 years ago, 
and through all the icy chill of rationalism a century 
ago. So, until He comes to earth again, He will keep 
for Himself a little band of those who love His Word 
and glorify Him as their Saviour. "The gates of Hell 
shall not prevail against His Church," even though 
it be but "a little flock." When He appears, even 
though it be after the Great Tribulation, there will still 
be on earth the 7,000 who have not bowed their knee 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 45 

to the god of this world, but who lift up their heads 
in those days because their redemption draweth nigh." 
This joyful hope for the Kingdom of Christ on 
earth must cheer and strengthen us, as it did 
Elijah. Then our Christmas joy will not be disturbed 
by the little faith or the great indifference of those who 
keep it as a mere holiday and an occasion for the flesh. 
But we will strive the more earnestly to have our part 
and lot among that faithful remnant, who thank and 
praise God for His grace, and who wait patiently for 
the victorious coming of the Christ at the end of this 
age of the Church. Amen. 



CHRISTMAS DAY. 
Gospel: Luke 2, 1-14. 

Micah 5, 2-4: "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, which art 
little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall 
one come forth unto Me that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose 
goings forth are from of old, from everlasting, etc." 

Hymns : 

34. Joy to the World! The Lord Is Come. 

31. O Little Town of Bethlehem. 
45. O Saviour of Our Race. 
19. Good News from Heaven the Angels Bring, v. 6. 

32. Let the Earth Now Praise the Lord. vs. 2 and 3. 

The Christmas Booklet of Micah. 

The blessed Christmas time is come again. Its 
hymns resound; its story is told; its joy thrills our 
hearts. The glory of the Lord which shone over the 
fields of Bethlehem streams out now over all the 
earth. There is no land today where it does not shine 
and gladden the hearts of men; no speech or lan- 
guage where the voice of its songs is not heard. From 
one end of the earth to the other, in palace and hut, 
the children are rejoicing and older folks look on happy 
and thoughtful. Even the sick and sorrowful find com- 
fort and joy in this Day. Through all its pleasures 
there rings the old, yet ever new Christmas story: 
"Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which 
shall be to all the people : for there is born to you this 
day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the 
Lord!" (Luke 2, 11). 

And this glory of the Lord will shine on to the 



CHRISTMAS DAY 47 



end of time. As long as poor sinners are pilgrims in 
the dust of earth, this Gospel, this good news, will be 
their light and manna, their rod and staff. As long 
as human hearts beat here below, the Christmas Day 
will be kept, until the Christ comes again to bring in 
the acceptable Year of the Lord, and the Eternal 
Christmas Day in Heaven begins. 

This glory of the Lord, this Dayspring from on 
high, like any earthly day has its twilight or dawn- 
ing. Its first beams appear in the Garden of Paradise. 
Its rays gild the tents of Abraham in the plains of 
Mamre, and light up the dying bed of good old Jacob, 
Moses and David and all the Prophets walked in the 
beauty of its rising. Even the Prophet Micah saw 
this day from afar, and spake of it as he was moved 
by the Holy Spirit. His prophecy is our Christmas 
Booklet; and as we open it we will find there first, 

The Poverty of the Christmas Place. 

A few miles south of Jerusalem lies the little town 
of Bethlehem. The place is full of holy memories. 
Here Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob, died and was 
buried. Here Ruth gleaned in the fields. Here David, 
the man after God's own heart, was born, and here 
he watched over his father's sheep, until Samuel anoint- 
ed him king. 

But how poor is all this story of the past, com- 
pared with the undying glory Micah sees as he writes : 
"But thou Bethlehem, etc." That saying was recalled 
by Israel from century to century. When the Wise 
Men came 700 years later, asking where the King of 
the Jews should be born, the scribes all answered 
without any hesitation : "In Bethlehem of Judsea : for 



48 CHRISTMAS DAY 



thus it is written through the prophet, And thou Beth- 
lehem, land of Judah, art in no wise least among the 
princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come forth a 
Governor, who shall be shepherd of My people Israel." 
Bethlehem is the Christmas place. There in the city 
of David, the great Son of David was born, "whose 
throne God promised to establish forever," (II. Sam. 
7, 14)." There where there were so many shepherds, 
the Good Shepherd was born. Its ancient name was 
Ephratah, or The Fruitful, and there the branch out of 
the stock of Jesse sprang up (Is. 11, 1). And Bethle- 
hem itself means House of Bread; there the living 
Bread came down from Heaven. 

But how strange a thing it was, that the King of 
heaven and earth, when He came to be Israel's Lord 
and ours, chose this little town as His birth-place. It 
never numbered 100 families within its walls; it was 
little among the thousands of Judah. Yet it was here 
that the Christ was born ; not in the capital, or some 
other city rich and great. His mother, too, was poor. 
She brought forth her first-born son in a stable or 
khan such as poorer travelers occupied, wrapped Him 
in a few yards of cloth, and laid Him on the hay in a 
manger. 

And by this we are reminded where the Christ 
wills to be born again today. The Christmas place for 
all time is not where there is pomp, pride, and show, 
but the humble heart. He who feels himself the least 
of all the Apostles, who is so poor in spirit that he 
thinks there is no good thing in him, as he bows down 



CHRISTMAS DAY 49 



in the dust like the Publican, has the kind of heart the 
Lord loves to enter, 

"Where meek souls will receive Him still, 

The dear Christ enters in." No. 31, v. 3. 

and again we look at 

The Break of the Christmas Day. 

Before the Christ came to earth, before the Day 
broke and the Day-star arose, there was a time of pa- 
tient waiting. Through 700 years of darkness Israel 
waited for the dawn of the Christmas Day. We read 
in our text : "Therefore will He give them up, until the 
time that she who travaileth hath brought forth." God 
let it be night indeed for Israel. Nebuchadnezzer de- 
stroyed the Temple, and carried away the captives to 
Babylon. And even when they had rebuilt Jerusalem 
and the Temple, Antiochus came up against them, and 
until the days of the Maccabees filled it with the abom- 
ination of desolation. And the darkest hour before the 
dawn came when the Romans subjugated Israel, and 
God's peculiar people paid tribute to such Gentile 
rulers as Herod and Pilate. 

But there was another way in which God also gave 
them up. They were under the Law through all these 
centuries, and grew weary of its bondage. The Phari- 
sees, who tried to keep the Law that came by Moses, 
fell into a mere outward form of godliness, which was 
the most miserable hypocricy. The Sadducees went 
their way in unbelief and indifference. And the zeal- 
ous Essenes withdrew in disgust from the wickedness 
of the world into the solitude of the desert. 

Even the Gentiles felt that God had "given them 



50 CHRISTMAS DAY 



up" also for a time. They had no pleasure any more 
in their idol worship, though there had once been some- 
thing of beauty and truth in it. The heathen priests 
winked at one another as they met in the streets, and 
mocked at all that was left of religion for the souls of 
men. The Greeks and Romans found no comfort or 
peace in their boasted wisdom. Unbelief and super- 
stition reigned everywhere. Some sneered with Pilate : 
"What is truth?" Others were duped by lying fortune- 
tellers and sorcerers. Men plunged into the lusts of 
the flesh, and abominations of wickedness. A night 
of hopeless despair lay everywhere on the earth. Then 
through all the world there went a rumor, that a great 
King should rise in the East, who would bring back 
the Golden Age. It was this which brought the Wise 
Men from the far East, following the Star. Even 
among the Jews there were few who, like Simeon and 
Anna, waited for the consolation of Israel and looked 
for redemption in Israel. First came the whirlwind, 
the earthquake, and the fire, as to Elijah on Horeb; 
and only then did the nations hear that still small voice 
of God, which said "Let there be light!" And after the 
darkness of the night came the dawn of the bright 
Christmas Day, with its message of "A Saviour which 
is Christ the Lord." 

And how often this history of the world is re- 
peated in the little world of man's heart! Many, who 
once listened to the Christmas story and rejoiced in 
the tree and its gifts, have gone out of the Paradise 
of Childhood into the world. That child-like faith has 
died out in many a heart ; they are cold and indiffer- 
ent to the Gospel. Their ears are deaf to the voice of 
God; they walk in the ways of the world and of sin. 



CHRISTMAS DAY 51 



This thing of which our text speaks has come upon 
them: God has "given them up" for a time, that they 
may feel the poverty and emptiness of their life with 
all its sin and guilt, and turn from that night to the 
Light of Truth which shines in the Christmas Day. 
Unto such, too, the Saviour is born. May they believe 
and rejoice in the Gospel message ! May their night be 
far spent, and may the Christmas Day soon dawn in 
their hearts ! The last verse of our text fills the measure 
of our joy, as it declares 

The Glory of the Christmas Child. 

"And He shall stand, and shall feed His flock in 
the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the Name of 
Jehovah His God : and they shall abide ; for now shall 
He be great unto the ends of the earth." Poor as He 
may lie in His Bethlehem-birthplace, He is God's Ruler, 
whose goings forth are from everlasting. It is He of 
whom John writes : "In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 
He said of Himself : "Before Abraham was, I am." He 
prayed in. the night of his betrayal : "And now, Father, 
glorify Thou Me with Thine Own Self with the glory 
which I had with Thee before the world was." How 
such thoughts thrill our hearts ! Poor and mean as is 
the Christmas-place, there is a glory in the Christ- 
mas child, which is not of earth and fills our hearts 
with heavenly joy. 

About Him there is only a little group who greet 
Him at His birth into our flesh, and wicked Herod is 
already plotting to slay Him; yet is He "the King of 
the Jews," and because of Him the "residue of His 
brethren shall return unto the children of Israel" 



52 CHRISTMAS DAY 



(v. 3) . And they did return, as Micah prophesied. The 
little band of the Apostles came, the fishermen of Gali- 
lee. Holy women ministered to Him of their substance, 
and sinners and publicans sought Him in His days on 
earth. And now they come by thousands from the 
east and the west, from all peoples and lands, all 
tongues and races. And we, too, come rejoicing to His 
manger-bed, Who is not ashamed to call poor sinners 
His brethren. We, too, sit down with Abraham, Isaac, 
Israel and his children to the Kingdom of God; and 
"come to Mount Zion, and to the general assembly and 
church of the first-born who are enrolled in Heaven." 
(Heb. 12, 22). 

Of Him Micah says, that "He shall stand." Though 
His enemies assail Him on every side, "the gates of 
Hell shall not prevail against His Church." Again 
Micah says : "He shall feed His flock in the strength of 
Jehovah * * * and they shall abide." That is a 
worthy prophecy of Him, born in the city of shepherds 
to be our Good Shepherd, knowing His sheep and let- 
ting no man snatch them out of His hand. If amid 
all our rejoicing there flashes upon us the recollection 
of our weakness and sinfulness, the temptations of the 
world, and the malice of the roaring Lion who seeks 
to devour us; if we ask whether this Good Shepherd 
will keep such poor sheep as we are in safety unto the 
end, and gather us all into His Heavenly Fold; then 
let us remember what Naomi said to Ruth in this very 
Bethlehem: "Sit still, my daughter * * * the man 
will not rest until he have finished the thing this day." 
(3, 18). Here is another citizen of Bethlehem, who 
like manly Boaz, will not rest until He has done His 
duty by us, His needy brethren. Let us in our weak- 



CHRISTMAS DAY 53 



ness only hold fast to Him, who has begun a good 
work in us, and He will perfect it until the day of His 
coming. It is the Light of Eternity which shines 
about the head of the Christ Child, and the power of 
an endless life which we feel by the manger at Beth- 
lehem. This Child gives us courage, comfort, and joy. 
Therefore we sing with the Heavenly host: 

"Glory to God in the highest, 

And on earth peace among men in whom He is well pleased." 



Amen. 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. 
Gospel: Luke 2, 33-40. 

Gen. 28, 10-19: "And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and 
went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place and 
tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took 
one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and 
lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, 
a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to Heaven; 
and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 
And behold, Jehovah stood above it, and said, I am Jehovah, 
the God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac: the 
land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 
and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, etc." 

Hymns: 

407. Nearer, My God, to Thee. v. 2-4. 

32. Let the Earth Now Praise the Lord. v. 3. 

254. O God of Jacob, by Whose Hand. v. 1 and 4. 

476. Abide With Me, Fast Falls the Eventide, v. 1 and 5. 

261. Guide me, Thou Great Jehovah, v. 1. 

23. The Happy Christmas Comes Once More. v. 3. 

The Outlook of the Christian Pilgrim on the Last 
Sunday of the Year. 

It is the last Sunday of the year. Soon the Old 
Year will have passed, and we will set foot upon the 
New Year, which lies all untrod and unknown before 
us. It is in these days that we feel with David, 

"I am a stranger with Thee, 

A sojourner, as all my fathers were. (Ps. 39, 12)." 

Or we say with Heb. 11, 13 : "We are strangers and 
pilgrims on earth." We are like the patriarch Jacob, 
who journeyed for many a year in strange lands, and 
bore the heat and burden of many a day, before he 
rested in the loved and longed-for Fatherland. Whether 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 55 

ours be a longer or shorter pilgrimage than his mat- 
ters not. As he left his childhood home and familiar 
scenes, so must we, too; and some of us in this very- 
year have left behind much that was dear to us. Our 
earthly life means a continual parting with things we 
love. As he went alone on his journey, so we will often 
feel lonely and forsaken by the world. The accusations 
of conscience traveled along with him, and we too can 
not forget that we are sinners. He knew not what 
would befall him, or when his journey would end, and 
just so our way is dark and uncertain before us. Our 
last Sunday of the year ought to be like that quiet 
spot among the mountains of the Holy Land, where 
Jacob once spent the night and rested on his way. Its 
outlook will comfort and strengthen the Christian pil- 
grim as Jacob's vision at Bethel did him. Here, first 
of all. 

We Look With Joy Into the Manger at Bethlehem. 

Jacob sleeps on his way to Haran, and sees a 
vision of a Heavenly ladder climbed by angels to the 
Throne of God. That was a joyful sight for the lonely, 
troubled pilgrim. It told him he was not cut off as a 
poor, helpless child of man from the bright and blessed 
Heaven above, but there was a bond and bridge from 
him to it. The ascending angels were a promise that 
his sighs and prayers were borne to Heaven, and God's 
Word, His help and salvation brought back. 

Is it not something like this we long for, too, in 
life's journey? The Paradise of Eden lies so far be- 
hind us, lost like Jacob's home through sin. The 
cherub stands with a flaming sword at the gate, and 
like Esau blocks the way home. In short, Heaven is 



56 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 

so high above us, and our sins have closed its gates 
against us, as Isaiah says (59, 2) : "Your iniquities 
have separated between you and your God, and your 
sins have hid His face from you." Where then is our 
bridge over this great gap, our ladder binding earth 
and Heaven together, so that the angels of God can 
ascend and descend to us ? 

Century after century the O. T. Fathers asked this 
question, and waited for its answer. The rainbow was 
a comforting sign, that God would rule the earth in 
grace, and spare us in mercy; but its bright colors 
faded very quickly. Jacob's ladder was the vision of 
a dream, and vanished before the dawn. The Taber- 
nacle and the Temple told how the glory of God dwelt 
among Israel, yet Solomon was right, when he prayed : 
"But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? 
Behold Heaven and the Heaven of heavens can not 
contain Thee ; how much less this house that I have 
builded Thee." (II. Chron. 6, 18). So throughout all 
the O. T. runs the longing : "O that Thou wouldst rend 
the heavens and come down." 

But we look with joy into the Manger, and upon 
the Child in Simeon's arms, of whom Anna spake to 
all them who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. We 
hear in the Christmas Gospel, of the Silent Night v/hen 
the angels of God came to earth and brought the glad 
tidings and sang the first Christmas hymn. That was 
a better night at Bethlehem than this of Jacob at Bethel. 
Since that time it has been Christmas on earth, and 
Jacob's vision has become a reality. Our Saviour says 
to Nathaniel (John 1, 51) : "Verily, verily, I say unto 
you, Ye shall see the Heaven opened, and the angels 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 57 

of God ascending and descending upon the Son of 
Man." He Himself is our Heavenly Ladder! 

Eight times He has opened Heaven for us : When 
the Son of God came to earth as a poor child of man ; 
again when He was baptized and the Spirit descended 
and the voice from Heaven said : "This is My Beloved 
Son, in whom I am well pleased;" when the Saviour 
had overcome the tempter in the desert, and angels 
ministered to Him; when He was glorified on the 
Mount of Transfiguration, and Moses and Elijah ap- 
peared; as He wrestled in prayer in Gethsemane un- 
der the sins of the world, and an angel strengthened 
Him; as He died upon the cross, and commended His 
spirit into His Father's hands; as the angels came 
down to roll away the stone on the Easter morn ; and 
when He Himself ascended to Heaven and sat down at 
the right hand of the Father. So in this Son of God 
who became man we find the Ladder, reaching from 
earth to the sky, and binding Heaven and earth to- 
gether. And the angels who announced His birth, 
ministered to Him in the Temptation, strengthened 
Him in Gethsemane, and proclaimed His Resurrection 
and Coming again in the clouds of Heaven ; these are 
they who ascend and descend upon this Ladder. 

We look with joy upon the Manger at Bethlehem, 
for since that time, Heaven and earth have been bound 
inseparably together. We know now that the Father 
created us for Heaven, and the Son redeemed us for 
Heaven, and the Holy Ghost is sanctifying and fitting 
us for Heaven. The wall of separation between Heaven 
and earth is broken down. Our sins are forgiven in 
Heaven; our confession of faith is recorded there; 
our hymns rise and re-echo there; and our prayers 



58 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 

find there a listening ear and a loving heart. The 
angels of God bring down to us grace and peace, help 
and salvation from Heaven. The earth becomes the 
outer court of Heaven, and the light of Heaven falls 
upon our pilgrimage here in the dust. We see that 
Way, which leads us to the Heavenly Father-house and 
the Father-land. Therefore on this Sunday after 
Christmas we look with joy into the Manger, and praise 
God for the mercy whereby, not only angels, but the 
Dayspring from on high hath visited us. And again 
will 

We Look With Faith Up to Heaven. 

Jacob sees more than the ladder and the angels: 
"And behold, Jehovah stood above it, and said, I am 
Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy father, and the 
God of Isaac : the land whereon thou liest, to thee will 
I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as 
the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to 
the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to 
the south : and in thee and in thy seed shall all the fam- 
ilies of the earth be blessed. And behold, I am with 
thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and 
will bring thee again into this land ; for I will not leave 
thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to 
thee of." (Vs. 13-15). With these words God reminds 
Jacob of all His promises to his fathers and the bless- 
ings showered upon them, and renews His covenant 
with Jacob. And from the closing words it is plain that 
He will be Jacob's God, too, and guide and defend him 
in his journeyings, until traveling days are over. 

On this last Sunday in the year we too look with 
faith to our God in Heaven. His providences have 
ruled over us and ours; He has preserved us in body 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 59 

and soul, blessed us in our work, provided for our needs 
and defended us from all danger. He has given us many 
a joy, and showered upon us many a blessing. And in 
our days of sorrow He has been our "Refuge and 
Strength, a very present Help in trouble." (Ps. 46, 1) . 
This Sunday after Christmas especially moves us to 
cry out with returning Jacob, (Gen. 32, 10) : "I am 
not worthy of the least of all the loving kindnesses, 
and of all the truth, which Thou hast showed unto Thy 
servant," or with the Psalmist (103) : 

"Bless Jehovah, my soul; 

And all that is within me, bless His holy name. 

Bless Jehovah, O my soul, 

And forget not all His benefits: 

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; 

Who healeth all thy diseases; 

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; 

Who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies." 

And now this faithful God renews His covenant 
with us. To each of us He says : "I am with thee and 
will keep thee whithersoever thou goest." He will 
bring us at last into the land we hope for, the glorious 
Fatherland on high. And meanwhile we shall lack 
nothing, for, "He will not leave us until He have done 
that which He hath spoken to us of." And what does 
this mean? If we are troubled by our sins, He hath 
said: "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy trans- 
gressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins (Is. 44, 22) ; return 
unto Me, for I have redeemed thee." If doubts of His 
mercy assail us, He promises : "For the mountains may 
depart, and the hills be removed ; but my loving kind- 
ness shall not depart from thee, neither shall My cove- 
nant of peace be removed, saith Jehovah that hath 
mercy on thee," (Is. 54, 10)." If we fear some danger 
or evil, He comforts us, saying: "Fear not, for I have 



60 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 

redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy name, thou 
art mine. When thou passeth through the waters, I 
will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall 
not overflow thee : when thou walkest through the fire 
thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame kindle 
upon thee," (Is. 43, If). If we need comforting, He 
declares : "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will 
I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusa- 
lem," (Is. 66, 13), or with the paraphrase of Isaiah 
49, 15: 

Can a woman's tender care 
Cease toward the child she bare? 
Yea, they may forgetful be, 
Yet will I remember thee! 

How good and gracious the Lord is, my brethren ! 
He will do what He has spoken of, and not leave us un- 
til He has brought it to pass. So with believing confi- 
dence we will set out upon the New Year, saying with 
this same Jacob: "I will not let Thee go, except Thou 
bless me." And at the close of the year 

We Look With Thanksgiving Upon the Church. 

When Jacob waked from his sleep and remem- 
bered the blessed vision, he exclaimed : "How dreadful 
(much to be revered) is this place! This is none other 
than the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven." 
He had not expected God to reveal Himself to him here, 
far from the altars his fathers had built and dedicated. 
This makes him the more thankful for the glorious 
things he has seen and heard in this place. As a sinful 
child of man a holy awe is put upon his soul by this 
spot. Therefore he sets up the stone which has been 
his pillow for the night, makes of it an altar, pours 
consecrating oil upon it, and calls the name of that place 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 61 

Bethel, the house of God (v. 19). And he vows that 
here when he returns he will worship God. Then he 
goes on his way joyfully and believingly to far distant 
Haran. 

Where is our Bethel, beloved? We know that first 
of all our heart should be such a Bethel, and that here 
this ladder is to stand, which reaches from earth to 
Heaven, and on which the angels ascend and descend. 
Here God's Word and promises should find their hear- 
ing. Jeremiah says : "Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, 
when ye shall search for Me within all your heart," 
(29, 13). But when our heart becomes such a Bethel 
we will always be ready to say with the 84th Psalm : 

"How amiable are Thy tabernacles, 
O Jehovah of hosts! 

My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of Jehovah; 
My heart and my flesh cry out unto the living God." 

Or with the 26th Psalm (v. 8) : 

"Jehovah, I love the habitation of Thy house, 
And the place where Thy glory dwelleth." 

Therefore on this last Sunday of the year we 
pause for a moment in thanksgiving for this House 
of God. It is here we find our Bethel; here stands 
the Ladder from earth to Heaven. Here we are keep- 
ing a blessed Christmastide about His Manger-bed; 
and beneath His Cross and by His empty Sepulchre we 
will soon praise Him as the King of Glory, until we 
see Him ascending on high. As the angels ascended on 
Jacob's ladder, so here our sighs and prayers, our 
hymns and praise ascend, and God's promises and 
comfortings descend to us. Here God has spoken to 
us, reproving, correcting, instructing, and comforting 
us as He did Jacob. Here He blesses us with word and 



G2 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 

Sacrament. Here we have seen the Heaven open, for 
we have looked into His fatherly Heart and wonderful 
councils for our salvation. Yea, by faith we have be- 
held the glory of God, and looked into those things eye 
hath not seen, and ear not heard, which God has pre- 
pared for them that love Him. Therefore we look with 
thanksgiving upon this Church, and say : "How dread- 
ful is this place, etc." 

Such thanksgiving will be the oil with which, like 
Jacob, we consecrate anew our Church. In this New 
Year it shall also be a House of God for us, and we 
will come into it diligently to hear God's Word and to 
have His gifts. The Lord bless our going in and com- 
ing out here, until we ourselves become a Bethel, and 
are built up into a Spiritual House and Holy Priesthood 
to offer unto God acceptable offerings through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Then everywhere we go, we will 
bear about us this Ladder and its angels that go up 
with our needs and prayers, and come down with God's 
help and comfort. And each day of our pilgrimage 
will bring us a day's march nearer home. When at 
last we depart, it will be like aged Simeon, "In peace ;" 
and like Jacob we will come again some day to the 
Heavenly House of God, the eternal Bethel, where the 
many mansions are. There we shall keep the Christ- 
mas Day for ever, and enter upon the eternal Year of 
Jubilee. This is the only way we can reach eternal 
joys, for, as John G. Holland writes: 



"Heaven is not reached at a single bound; 
But we build the ladder by which we rise 
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, 

And we mount to its summit, round by round. 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 63 

Only in dreams is the ladder thrown 

But the dreams depart and the vision falls, 
From the weary earth to the sapphire walls; 

And the sleeper wakes on his pillow of stone." 

So may each day spent in His House find us grow- 
ing in grace and guided by His Spirit, and thus be an- 
other round on the Heavenward Ladder. Amen. 



NEW YEAR. 

Or Sylvester Evening. 
Gospel: Luke 2, 21. 

Numbers 6, 24-26. "Jehovah (the Lord) bless thee, and keep thee: 
Jehovah make His face (to) shine upon thee, and be gracious 

unto thee: 
Jehovah lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. 

Hymns: 

35. Jesus! Name of Wondrous Love. v. 3f. 

36. To the Name of Our Salvation, v. 1. 

480. A Few More Years Shall Roll. Refrain. 

481. For Thy Mercy and Thy Grace, v. 4. 

482. Great God! We Sing Thy Mighty Hand. v. 3. 
19. Good News From Heaven the Angels Bring, v. 6. 

208. Lord of Our Life and God of Our Salvation, vs. 3 to 6. 

God's Name and Blessing Upon His Children. 

A New Year lies before us with its many weeks and 
days. All its toils and triumphs, struggles and achieve- 
ments, joy and sorrow are hidden from our eyes. We 
stand therefore upon its threshold, hopeful but timid. 
Our friends and relatives greet us with good wishes 
for our health, wealth and happiness. But the Church, 
like the good Mother which she is, gives her dear chil- 
dren the richest and best blessing. In our New Year's 
Gospel she gives us the name of "Jesus," our blessed 
Saviour. In that Name is all our hope amid earth's toil 
and rest, want and abundance, sickness and health, 
life or death. This we should confess by all our words 
and works in the coming year. So we will write this 
old, yet ever new, benediction as our watchword for 
the year, inscribed over heart, home, and all our life. 



NEW YEAR 65 



There was the same hope and confession in it when 
Aaron and his sons were commanded of God to pro- 
nounce it upon His people : "So shall they put My Name 
upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them." 
From century to century it has been pronounced upon 
the people of God. This benediction greets us at our 
Baptism; and under it we ratify our Baptismal cove- 
nant at our Confirmation. With it we comfort our- 
selves at Public Confession and after the Holy Commu- 
nion. Under this blessing our hearts and hands are 
united in marriage. It closes each Divine Service ; for 
the N. T. Benediction at Vespers is only a paraphrase 
or improvement upon the 0. T. one, and says the same 
things. And now with this blessing we enter the New 
Year. It is the best we can take with us on the journey 
of life, until with this Benediction our journey here be- 
low shall end. It reminds us to seek first, and above all 
other things 

The Love of God. 

It is of the love of our Heavenly Father we are 
thinking today. Here we raise our Ebenezer, or stone 
of help, and confess : "Hitherto the Lord has brought 
us." We call upon our souls and "all that is within 
us to bless His Holy Name, and forget not all His ben- 
efits." That is our first and most delightful duty this 
Day. Behind us lies the old year, a large piece of our 
life, and in it our faithful God has blessed our land and 
each of us, providing us daily and abundantly with all 
the necessaries of life. Therefore we bring Him first 
of all the thank-offerings of our hearts and lips. 

And now we look forward into the New Year. We 
know not what awaits us there, but of course there 
will be some toils and trials there. The Word says of 



66 NEW YEAR 



this life of ours, that "even if by reason of strength it 
last fourscore years: yet is their pride but labor and 
sorrow" (Ps. 90, 10). We question anxiously whether 
our labors will be successful and followed by God's 
blessing? Are we to have and to hold through this 
New Year all that belongs to us of our daily bread, as 
Luther sums it up : "A believing spouse and good chil- 
dren, etc." "Except Jehovah build the house, they la- 
bor in vain that build it," (Ps. 127). 

"On His behest, 
Our all doth rest." 

Therefore we sigh with the Psalmist (67) : "God be 
merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause His face to 
shine upon us." We pray with Jacob : "I will not let 
Thee go, except Thou bless me ;" or declare with David : 
"If Thou bless the house of Thy servant, it shall be 
blessed for ever." 

And the love of God answers from on high : "The 
Lord bless thee, and keep thee." It is no man, mark 
you, or angel who blesses here, but Jehovah; He who 
is Lord of Lords, Lord of the Past, Present, and Future, 
Lord of Heaven and earth, Lord of life and death. "He 
speaks, and it comes to pass; He commands, and it 
stands fast." From Him "cometh down every good and 
perfect gift, even from the Father of Lights with whom 
there is no shadow caused by turning." He will con- 
tinue to bless our land and Church, our homes and those 
we love, our going out and our coming in, our words 
and works. That is the glorious promise which greets 
us at the opening of the year ; the hope with which we 
set out on our way. If He bless us we shall want for 
nothing, for 



NEW YEAR 67 



"The blessing of Jehovah, it maketh rich; 

And He addeth no sorrow therewith." (Prov. 10, 22). 

But there are many dangers lurking along the 
pathway of the New Year. Here hatred and spite wait 
to hurt and harm us. Our earthly goods are threat- 
ened with loss. Sickness and death menace the beloved 
circle of the home. So we commend ourselves to Him 
whom Job calls (7,20) : "O Thou, Watcher (or Pre- 
server) of men." And the Psalmist says (121) : 

^•daajs jou jaqmn^s aai^iau \\]M. 

And the love of God answers, "The Lord bless 
thee, and keep thee." That is our comfort, that in the 
year to come He will keep our land from foes without 
and within, from war and bloodshed, plague and pest- 
ilence, from failure of harvest and from famine ; that 
He will keep the Church and all believers from all evil ; 
and though His unsearchable Providence appoint this 
or that evil for us, He will make it work together for 
good to them that love Him. 

Jehovah is thy Keeper, 

Jehovah is thy shade upon thy right hand. 

The sun shall not smite ,thee by day, 

Nor the moon by night. 

Jehovah will keep thee from all evil; 

He will keep thy soul. 

Jehovah shall keep thy going out and thy coming in 

From this time forth and for evermore." 

And with that saying: "He shall keep thy soul," 
we come to 

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

This appears in the second verse of our text : "The 
Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious 
unto thee." That, too, is a goodly promise for the New 



68 NEW YEAR 



Year. How beautiful it is, on a dark winter day, when 
the sun shines again with mild and friendly ray. In 
a little while we know its magic power will bring forth 
the flowers with all their fragrance, and the birds will 
sing again in the branches. The earth will put on its 
robe of green, and the heart of man will swell with 
the joy of the Springtime. 

Even when it is a human face which shines upon 
us ; when we look into eyes which are faithful and true 
and hear kind, loving words, how we rejoice. How 
happy the child is when the face of father or mother 
beams upon it with love; or the subject when the 
face of his ruler shines upon him. Solomon says (Prov. 
16, 15) : "In the light of the king's countenance is life, 
and his favor is as a cloud of the latter rain" falling 
gently upon the ripening crops. But there is a 
more beautiful and blessed thing; it is when God 
makes His face shine upon us. This means life, salva- 
tion, peace and joy; such grace as we need in the 
trials, temptations, and struggles of the coming year, 
where we are so apt to go astray, stumble and fall. So 
we pray with Asaph (Ps. 80, 3) : 

"Turn us again, God; 

And cause Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved." 

God knows our need of the sunshine of His face, 
and so this is part of His New Year's greeting for us. 
But what does this mean ? The face of a man is what 
we see of his person, and the "face" of Jehovah is thus 
His Only-Begotten Son, who is "the brightness of His 
glory and the express image of His person." (Heb. 1, 3) . 
Christ is what we see of God. He it was who wrestled 
with Jacob at the ford, after which Jacob could say: 
"I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." 



NEW YEAR 69 



(Gen. 32, 30). He it was who spoke with Moses "face 
to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend," (Ex. 33, 
11). He was the angel of the covenant, the presence 
and countenance of God in the pillar of cloud and fire, 
who led Israel through the wilderness. And we, too, 
know this face. We have gazed into the eyes of the 
Child in the manger, who "became poor for our sakes, 
that we through His poverty might be made rich." We 
have seen the pity which shone there in the days of His 
flesh, as He beheld the misery of poor sinners. We have 
seen that face "Stricken, smitten and afflicted," 
crowned with thorns and bleached by death upon the 
Cross. And He who humbled Himself thus for us 
promises to make His face shine upon us in the year to 
come. 

"As each happy Christmas 

Dawns on earth again, 
Comes the Holy Christ Child 

To the hearts of men. 

Enters with His blessing 

Into every home, 
Guides and guards our footsteps, 

As we go and come." No. 539. 

Therefore He comes in the Word and Sacrament to 
reveal his grace and bestow it upon us. This grace is 
but the shining of His face upon us. It lights up the 
way we should walk, works in us to will and do after 
His good pleasure, and makes us perfect in every good 
work to do His will. It confirms, strengthens, and 
establishes us unto the end. It is the forgiveness of 
our sins, great and small, which are no more remem- 
bered against us for ever. Therefore we bless His 
holy name (Ps. 103) : 



70 NEW YEAR 



"Who forgivath all thine iniquities; 

Who healeth all thy diseases; 

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; 

Who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies." 

And that we may always praise Him thus, we 
need 

The Communion of the Holy Ghost. 

Of this the last verse speaks. Often in these days 
the sun hides his face behind clouds and fogs, and all 
is dark and cold on earth until it lifts it up upon us 
again. So, too, into our Christian life there come 
clouds and fogs, doubts and temptations, that veil the 
sun of grace. It seems sometimes as if the Lord had 
hid His face from us, and we are ready to lament with 
David (Ps. 13, 1) : 

How long, O Jehovah ? Wilt Thou forget me for ever ? 
How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me ? 

Therefore this third promise rings out from the 
sanctuary: "The Lord lift up His countenance upon 
thee, and give thee peace." 

This assures us of the constant communion of the 
Holy Ghost, of Him who calls us by the Gospel, enlight- 
ens us by His gifts, and will sanctify and preserve us 
in peace in the true faith. This speaks of the Spirit of 
Adoption, who bears witness in us that we are chil- 
dren of God, and teaches us to say, "Abba, Father ; of 
the Spirit of Faith, who will not let us sink in the 
storm-waves, but lifts up our heart, hands, and eyes 
to the Lord from whom cometh our help ; of the Spirit 
of Prayer, who moves us to cry again and again, like 
the Caananite, and not despair, until at last we hear 
His answer : "Be it unto thee even as thou wilt ;" of the 
Spirit of Glory, who in all our earthly troubles assures 



NEW YEAR 71 



us, that the sufferings of this present time are not 
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be 
revealed in us. And where this Spirit is, there the sun 
breaks forth from behind the clouds, and the Lord lifts 
up His countenance upon us in grace and blessing. 

By this Spirit the Lord gives us ever and again 
the peace here promised: peace in our guilty need, so 
that we can say : "Who shall lay anything to the charge 
of God's elect?" Peace in the days of trouble, so that 
we learn to be still and wait upon the Lord, and in 
quietness and confidence we find our strength. Then 
we can say with the 42nd Psalm : 

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? 
And why artj thou disquieted within me? 
Hope thou in God; for I shall ye,t praise Him 
For the help of His countenance." 

Yea we will even learn to rejoice in tribulations, 
because tribulation worketh patience, then experience, 
then hope that maketh not ashamed. Yea, this Spirit 
gives us peace even in the last great struggle, when 
the darkness of death would be gloomy and cheerless 
indeed without Him. Then, too, the Lord lifts up His 
countenance upon us and gives us such peace until we 
can say with Simeon: "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy 
servant depart in peace." 

Well may we thank the Lord for this Benediction, 
which takes us by the hand, and leads us over rejoicing 
and fearing nothing into the New Year. God's prom- 
ises are sure and never fail. And this promise is to 
each of us; its very form declares this: "The Lord 
bless thee, etc." As the angels of God met Jacob at 
Bethel when he set out on his years of wandering, so 
the great God meets each one of us at the threshold 



72 NEW YEAR 



of the New Year, and lifts his hands over us in this 
Benediction. But such a blessing as this lays on us 

A Solemn and Holy Duty. 

In the year 1773 the Swedish General Steenbock 
determined to burn the city of Altona. John Sasse, 
who was its pastor, begged him on bended knee to 
spare its homes. But Steenbock thrust him away 
fiercely, and pretended that he was compelled to do this 
by the command of his superior. "If that is the case," 
said Sasse, "and you are innocent of this wicked deed, 
I will pronounce the benediction upon you, of Him who 
will one day be our Judge." And lifting up his hands 
he spoke these words, which God bade Aaron put upon 
the children of Israel as His blessing. The rough gen- 
eral shuddered and shook beneath them; yet he car- 
ried out his shameful intention and laid Altona in 
ashes. But from that day the blessing of God forsook 
him ; he was defeated and captured by his enemies. As 
he lay dying in prison, he told the visiting pastor that 
much as he had been troubled by the curses of the thou- 
sands he had wronged, heavier than all these was that 
benediction which the pastor of Altona pronounced 
upon him, when he might have spared the city, but 
would not: "I die as) a perjurer, condemned for ever by 
the blessing to which I pretended I had a right." 

That sad story has its lesson for us. The Triune 
God comes to us with His blessing today. He is ready 
to go with us and to bless us throughout the coming 
year. But that blessing will become a curse, if we 
tread it under foot. Woe unto us, if this year we dis- 
dain the love of God, our Heavenly Father! Woe unto 
us, if we receive the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 



NEW YEAR 73 



carelessly and in vain ! Woe unto us if we despise the 
means of grace and the communion of the Holy Ghost ! 
May this Benediction, which we hear each Lord's Day, 
warn us in every hour of temptation, when the old 
Enemy would deceive us, or the world and the flesh 
would lead us astray. Then let us ask ourselves : "Was 
it for this that the blessing of the Triune God was put 
upon us at the opening of this year?" Watchful and 
prayerful, believing and obedient, let us look to the 
Almighty Hand which blesses us, and let Him guide as 
Well as guard us. 

"For such His hosts on joyful wing, 
A blest New Year of mercy sing." 



Amen. 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. 

Sunday after New Year. 

Gospel: Matthew 2, 13-23. 

Ex. 14, 9-16: "And the Egyptians pursued after them * * * 
and they were sore afraid; and the children of Israel cried out 
unto Jehovah. * * * And Moses said, Fear ye not, stand still, 
and see the salvation of Jehovah, which He will work for you 
today: for the Egyptians whom we have seen today, ye shall 
see them no more forever. Jehovah will fight for you, and ye 
shall hold your peace. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Wherefore 
criest thou unto Me ? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they 
go forward. And lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thy hand 
over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go 
into the midst of the sea on dry ground." 

Hymns: 

470. Now From the Altar of Our Hearts, v. 3. 

447. Jesus, Still Lead On. 

298. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, v. 2. 

409. God Moves in a Mysterious Way. v. 3f. 

400. Give to the Winds Thy Fears, v. 1. 

482. Great God! We Sing That Mighty Hand. v. 2f . 

516. Heavenward Still Our Pathway Tends, v. 1 and 4. 

413. Peace, Perfect Peace, v. 2 and 4-7. 

Israel's Pilgrimage and Ours Through 
the New Year. 

In the Gospel for today we have two journeys that 
Joseph and Mary made with the Christ Child. First, 
they walk the way of anxiety and sorrow; they go 
from Bethlehem to Egypt. They leave their beloved 
fatherland, that they may save the Child from the plats 
of King Herod. In this journey they are obeying the 
Word of God and trusting in His grace and help, which 
lightens their anxiety and sorrow. Again they walk 
a way of hope and joy; they return from Egypt to 






SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 75 

Canaan. The news has come that their enemy and per- 
secutor is dead. The angel bids them return to the 
land of their fathers, and with joyful, thankful hearts 
they leave that strange land and people to dwell in 
their own Nazareth. This also becomes an easy jour- 
ney because of God's command and blessing. 

We stand yet on the threshold of the New Year. A 
great journey lies before us. It may be one of anxiety 
and sorrow; then, like Joseph and Mary, we must 
walk it humbly obeying the Lord and trusting His 
grace and help. This will lighten its burdens, and 
make it an easier way to walk. Again our way may 
be one of hope and joy, as when Joseph and Mary re- 
turned; then we should walk it with thankful hearts 
and mindful of God's blessings. And whether the way 
be smooth or hard, like Joseph and Mary we should 
take the Christ Child with us. Whether it be over 
Egypt's soil, or under Canaan's skies, let us walk as 
in God's presence and led by His hand. Let us pray 
with David (Ps. 25, 4f) : 

"Show me Thy ways, Jehovah; 
Teach me Thy paths. 
Guide me in Thy truth, and teach me; 
For Thou art the God of my salvation; 
For Thee do I wait all the day." 

Let our way in the New Year be, first of all, 

The Way God Chooses for Us. 

The children of Israel were in great trouble. At 
God's command they had encamped by the Red Sea. 
Before them roared the waves, as they dashed upon the 
shore ; behind them and to their right rose great cliffs 
they could not climb; and to the left, along the way 



76 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 

they had come, they now saw the Egyptians pursuing 
after them. To human eyes there was no prospect of 
escape; all hope of help was vain. Therefore they 
murmur against Moses, saying: "Because there were 
no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in 
the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with 
us, to bring us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the 
word that we spake unto thee in Egypt, saying, Let us 
alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it were 
better that we should serve the Egyptians, than that 
we should die in the wilderness." But there was one 
way of escape still open to them, though they forgot 
it. Moses looks up to the hills from whence cometh 
our help ; he calls upon the Lord to deliver His people. 
And the word comes: "Speak unto the children of 
Israel that they go forward," forward in the way God 
has chosen, forward in His name, through the waves 
of the Red Sea. That is their way because God wills 
it so. 

And our way, beloved, whither does it lead ? How 
often we have heard the Proverb (15, 24) : 

"To the wise the way of life goeth upward, 
That he may depart from Sheol beneath." 

How often we have sung: "Heavenward still our 
pathway tends." (No. 516). For that the Son came to 
earth on the Christmas Day, and redeemed us with His 
holy and precious blood. For that we have been bap- 
tized into His name. For that His Word is preached, 
and His Sacraments cleanse and strengthen us with His 
Body and Blood. And the Lord's Day stands before all 
the other days of the week, as if to remind us of this 
pathway Heavenward. 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 77 

But on this Heavenward way we often have the 
same experience Israel had at the Red Sea. We, too, 
have difficulties which would hinder us or turn us back. 
The Prince of Darkness pursues after our souls to turn 
them from the way of life. The indifferent and unbe- 
lieving of the world now threaten and then flatter us 
into joining in their sins and deserting from our God. 
Our own shortcomings trouble us; our weakness dis- 
courages us; and the cares and sorrows of this life 
make our hearts heavy and our footsteps slow. Like 
Israel, we find precipices of difficulty on the one hand, 
and hosts of adversaries on the other. There is only 
one way open for us through the New Year : that which 
Moses took when he had called upon the Lord, and the 
answer came : "Speak unto the children of Israel that 
they go forward." For us; it means just what it did for 
Israel: forward in the way God prescribes and points 
out, even through the Red Sea if God so wills it. The 
waves will not roll over our heads and drown us, if He 
chooses for us such a way. 

That is the first lesson we should learn for our 
pilgrimage through the New Year : to walk the way of 
God's appointing. Though His thoughts are not our 
thoughts, and His ways our ways, yet we will find them 
ways of peace and not of evil. This comforts David in 
the 139th Psalm (v. 3) : 

"Thou searchest out my path and my lyingdown, 
And art acquainted with all my ways." 

Then with all confidence let us commit ourselves 
to His gracious guidance, whether the way He chooses 
for us run through "scenes exalted or depressed," 
riches or poverty, health or sickness, joy or sorrow. 
Again let us walk in 



78 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 

The Light God Kindles for Us. 

The children of Israel went on without fear or 
stumbling. The pillar of the cloud and fire lit up their 
pathway through the divided sea like a searchlight, 
whilst its lightnings flashed angrily in the face of the 
pursuing foe. In quietness and confidence Israel walked 
between the waters walled up on either side, because 
of this wonderful beacon, which led them from that 
time on through the wilderness until they entered 
Canaan. It showed them where they should rest, and 
when they should set out again on their journey. How 
blessed and happy they must have been with such a 
guiding light! 

But have we no such wonderful light, which God 
has kindled for us from Heaven, and does it not shine 
brightly enough to cheer us in the darker days and the 
gloomy nights of our life? Did we ever fail to find 
an answer, when we asked : "Lord, what wouldst Thou 
have me to do?" with His Word opened prayerfully 
before us. Were there not always godly friends who 
could assure us of God's way and will therein? There 
are some today who would take the Word of God 
away from our homes and our schools, but we will 
allow no such thing, for, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my 
feet, and light unto my way (Ps. 119, 105)." 

It shows us even as children the right way, that 
we may not depart to the right hand or the left; it 
shows us our enemies, who would hinder us and lead 
us astray; it shows us the help Divine we 
look for in all our temptations. It gives us courage 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 79 

and strength to keep on our way, and fills us with com- 
fort and peace. 

In this Light God Himself has kindled for us we 
will walk through the New Year. We will read His 
Word more diligently, and strive in its light to see more 
clearly the path of duty and the Way of Life. We will 
use it for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruc- 
tion in righteousness. It shall be our favorite among 
all books, and the treasure we prize above all else in 
the home. We will pattern our words and works after 
it, order our household by it, and shape our course by 
it through good and evil days. As we willingly hear 
and learn it, in God's House and our own, it will make 
each of our days a Lord's Day and a Festival. Again 
let us take with us through the New Year. 

The Rod God Loans Us. 

"Lift up thy rod," He said to Moses. This rod 
with which Moses had wrought the plagues in Egypt 
was now stretched out, as a symbol of his authority, 
over the Red Sea, and the waves recede as though the 
arm of the Almighty had smitten them. They rise up 
in walls on either hand, so that Israel goes over dry- 
shod. Again this rod is lifted, and the sea plunges 
over Pharaoh and his chariots in awful destruction. 
This rod Moses carried with him through the desert, 
and with it brought water out of the rock for thirsty 
Israel at Massa and Meribah. While he held it up in 
his hands and prayed, Israel prevailed over the Amala- 
kites. Day after day as Israel journeyed, Moses went 
before them, but always with this rod in his hand. 
Leaning on it as a staff he ascended Mt. Sinai to re- 
ceive the tables of the Law from the hand of God. 



80 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 

Leaning on it again he went up Mt. Hor, where Aaron, 
his brother, died. He never laid it down until on Mt. 
Nebo he folded his hands in death, and this rod fell 
from his lifeless grasp. Then he was with the Lord. 

But where is there such a rod for our journey- 
through the coming year? That we will find only in 
our Christian faith. By this we do not mean such a 
faith as even worldlings have, that God rules over the 
world in some indefinite way, and means every thing 
for the best. Such a faith would do for Jew, Turk, and 
Hottentot alike, and when great troubles come would 
leave them all wringing their hands in despair. Our 
faith holds that the Son of God is my Lord, who has 
redeemed me from sin, death, and the devil, that I 
might be a child of God and heir of His glory and 
blessedness in Heaven. This faith will carry us safely 
through all the way, and prove a staff and stay. It 
works greater miracles for us than did Moses' rod. It 
shields us against the assaults of the Devil, and delivers 
us from the accusations of a guilty conscience. It 
makes a way of escape for us out of trials and temp- 
tations, "for who shall separate us from the love of 
Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, 
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? * * * 
Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors 
through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that 
neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 
nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor 
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able 
to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 
Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8, 35-39)." Yea, with this rod 
in hand we shall be numbered among those "who are 
sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, and poor, yet possess- 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 81 

ing all things." This rod of Christian faith let us hold 
fast, trusting and thanking God when He tries and 
purifies our faith. Then, like Moses, we too shall bring 
water out of the rock, overcome the enemies of our soul, 
and pile up even the waves of the sea in walls of de- 
fense. Then with the Psalmist we may cry : 

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; 

Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." (23, 4). 

Therefore forward on our way, in the light and 
with the rod of our God, into 

The Land God Prepares for Us. 

Israel was not only called out of Egypt and its 
bondage, not only called to wander in the wilderness, 
but after these things to enter into the land He had 
promised the fathers and prepared for His people. 
None of them had seen its mountains and valleys, its 
cities and rivers. But they believed that it lay wait- 
ing for them in all its loveliness beyond the Red Sea 
and the desert. The way thither was difficult. They 
were often obliged to hasten away from some Elim 
with its wells and palm trees, and for months and 
years they wandered in dry and desert places. But the 
Almighty Himself, who cannot lie, had given His 
pledge that Canaan should be the end and goal of their 
journey. 

We, too, are not journeying aimlessly through 
these years on earth; we have a land of promise on 
high. We have not beheld its towers from afar, or 
gazed into the city with the streets of gold. We have 
not sat down by the river of living waters, or in the 
shade of the tree of life, "Eye hath not seen, ear hath 
not heard, neither have entered into the heart of man 
the things that God hath prepared for them that love 



82 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 

Him." But we believe the promise of our God, that be- 
yond our Jordan of death there awaits us the Heavenly- 
Canaan with all its glory and blessedness. His Word 
pledges this as the end and goal of our Christian pil- 
grimage, and that this poor race which was banished 
from Eden shall find its eternal Paradise in Heaven. 
To that end the Son of God came down from Heaven 
for us men and for our salvation. For this He ascend- 
ed up from earth to Heaven, "to prepare a place for 
us." 

And if we are journeying thither, then the toils 
and tribulations of earth must become light; we will 
be always patient in tribulation and rejoicing in hope. 
We will seek first the Kingdom of God and His right- 
eousness, the one thing needful ; and we will work out 
our salvation with fear and trembling. Neither will 
we sorrow by the grave of those we love, as those who 
have no hope; but we will rejoice that they are done 
with their desert wanderings and have already entered 
the Heavenly Canaan. And though our outward man 
perish, our bodily powers fail, our hearts and souls 
shall rejoice, because we are nearer our journey's end 
and the rest that remaineth for the people of God. And 
in our last hour we shall say : "I have fought the good 
fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith : 
henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of right- 
eousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall 
give to me at that day." (II. Tim. 4, 7f.) 

So with the opening of another year the command 
comes to us to "go forward in God's appointed way, 
walking in the light of the Word, with the rod of faith 
in our hand, and into the land which God has prepared 
for us. Amen. 



THE EPIPHANY FESTIVAL. 
Gospel: Matthew 2, 1-12. 

Isaiah 42, 1-8: "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My 
Chosen, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My Spirit upon 
Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not 
cry, nor lift up His voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. 
A bruised reed will He not break, and a dimly burning wick (flax) 
will He not quench; He will bring forth justice in truth, etc." 

Hymns : 

38. As With Gladness Men of Old. 
40. O Thou, Who by a Star Didst Guide. 
42. Hail to the Lord's Anointed. 
223. Saviour, Sprinkle Many Nations. 

The Glory of the Great Servant of the Lord. 

"The Word was made flesh," is the message of 
the joyful Christmas season ; but the rest of the verse : 
"And dwelt among us," belongs to the Epiphany sea- 
son which we have now entered. The Gospels of the 
Epiphany reveal His glory, beginning with His first 
recorded word, and then the first miracle. They con- 
tinue to set the Servant of Jehovah before us, as our 
Good Physician, healing the Centurion's servant; the 
King among men, whom even the winds and waves 
obey ; the Judge of the living and the dead in the para- 
ble of the wheat and tares ; until on the last (sixth) of 
these Epiphany Sundays we behold Him on the Mount 
of Transfiguration in all His glory as the Son of God. 

But this same Jesus comes to us today, not in this 
glorious outward show, not in the Shekinah pillar of 
fire, not with all His holy angels. He comes now in 



84 THE EPIPHANY FESTIVAL 

the preaching of the Word, in the water of Holy Bap- 
tism, and the bread and wine of the Holy Communion. 
Just so, wherever we see Him in the days of His flesh, 
His glory is hidden and veiled in a servant's form. 
Then, as now, it is only the eyes of faith, which mark 
the glory in His Word and works. Therefore we read 
how at Cana He "manifested forth His glory, and 
His disciples believed on Him." Even on the Mount 
only three, His most intimate disciples, saw His face 
shining as the sun, and His raiment white as the light. 
And these were commanded to "Tell the vision to no 
man, until the Son of man was risen from the dead." 
"The glory of the Lord Jesus, though in the form of 
a servant," is the theme of this whole season of the 
Epiphany. It is especially profitable for us, who are 
to believe in His Holy Word, and to receive from Him 
great and Heavenly gifts, which He has seen fit to wrap 
up for us in the earthly elements of His Sacraments. 
Here, too, there is an Epiphany, and He manifests 
forth His glory to us. By faith we see it shining forth 
in Word and Sacrament. Thus we come to know 

His Holy Person. 

"Behold, My Servant," so our God speaks by the 
mouth of the prophet; and these are mighty sayings 
which describe who and what He is : "Whom I uphold." 
In this we see the hand of the Almighty God, leading, 
supporting, strengthening His beloved Son, through 
all that way and work of our Redemption, from His 
Baptism at Jordan to the Cross on Golgotha. This 
hand never let go, never failed to uphold Him. There- 
fore Jesus could say : "He that sent Me is with Me ; He 
hath not left Me alone ; for I do always the things that 
are pleasing to Him (John 8, 29)." 



THE EPIPHANY FESTIVAL 85 

Again we read : "My Chosen, in whom My soul de- 
lighteth." Never did the Almighty God speak thus of 
any human servant of His. None such did He call His 
Elect. Moses he called: "Faithful in all Mine House?" 
but even he sinned at Massa and Meribah. Here, as the 
names imply, thirsty Israel "tempted and strove with" 
the Lord ; and Moses forgot that he was the represent- 
ative of God's free grace even toward this erring peo- 
ple, and began to scold these rebels and to smite the 
rock. At this water of strife and provocation he fell 
from God's favor, so that he was not allowed to enter 
the promised land. But here is a Servant of the Lord, 
of whom He declares at His Baptism : "This is My Be- 
loved Son, in whom I am well pleased;" and much 
later these words are repeated at His Transfiguration, 
and the Father adds : "Hear ye Him." Yea, this is "His 
Chosen, in whom His soul delights." 

And yet again we read : "I have put My Spirit up- 
on Him." That was never said of any mere man on 
this earth. The Apostle Peter testifies that: "Men 
spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit," 
(II. 1, 21). But never does he say that God put His 
Spirit upon any of them. All the children of God are 
enlightened by His Holy Spirit, as a tree flourishes in 
the sunshine, but never is it said of them that they 
are Joshuas over whom the sun stands still. There is 
only One upon whose head shines this crown ; of whom 
the Word says : "And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest 
upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, 
the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowl- 
edge and of the fear of Jehovah." (Is. 42, 2). And 
this is the Great Servant of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. 
In these Epiphany Gospels His Holy Person is clearly 



86 THE EPIPHANY FESTIVAL 

described, so that we may see His glory, and bow be- 
fore Him with the Wise Men. Therefore do we view 
Him in the Temple at Jerusalem, at the marriage in 
Cana, in Capernaum, in the storm on Galilee, and on 
the Mount of Transfiguration. Always is He here 
"the Servant of Jehovah, whom He upholds; His 
Chosen in whom His soul delights, and upon whom He 
has put His Spirit." Again our text speaks of 

The Meek Mind of Our Lord Jesus. 

Those words of v. 2 tell us how meek and gentle 
He was, who went about doing good all His days in 
the flesh. He did not come among men with any out- 
ward show; there was no glitter and blare of earthly 
pomp. No trumpet blew before Him, no signal guns 
were fired to say : "I am here ! I am here !" He did not 
cry out loudly in the street as those do who would draw 
attention to themselves, who seek their own honor. 
But He went about His work quietly, and loved to hide 
away from the sight of men. 

Because of this, His foes despise and disown Him, 
and yet before these, too, is He patient and gentle: 
"Despised and rejected of men, He is led as a lamb to 
the slaughter, and as a sheep is dumb before her shear- 
ers, so He opened not His mouth." He seeks not His 
own glory, and therefore He bears these things they 
say in foolish trifling or bitter unbelief. Even when 
that woman in the crowd lifts up her voice to say: 
"Blessed is the womb that bear Thee," He wards off 
this earnest praise, so far removed from all empty flat- 
tery, by modestly saying: "Yea, rather blessed are they 
that hear the Word of God and keep it." So He hides 
Himself away, and only by some heart which diligently 






THE EPIPHANY FESTIVAL 87 

seeks Him does He let Himself be found. In gentle 
pity, and not self-seeking pride, does He say: "Come 
unto Me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I 
will give you rest." 

So He still walks among men today. So, too, the 
world still despises and disowns Him, because He does 
not reveal to them His Divine Majesty in signs and 
wonders, arousing their curiosity and idle admiration. 
So He still hides Himself away in Word and Sacrament, 
and goes on quietly with His work. So He still comes 
today to those who are "the poor in spirit," to "them 
that are quiet in the land" (Ps. 35, 20), that He may 
bring to them His salvation, His comfort, and peace. 

Again the prophet says, describing the mind of the 
Lord: "A bruised reed shall He not break, etc." This 
means a poor sinner, who feels the misery of his sin 
and in the consciousness of it is bowed down to the 
earth before a Holy God. Such a reed He will not 
break; such a sinner He will not cast away. We know 
how gently He dealt with the woman, who was a sin- 
ner, because she acknowledged her sin and had such 
shame and proper hatred of it. We know how He for- 
gave Peter after his fall, when he wept so bitterly be- 
cause he had denied his Lord and Master. We know 
what He said to the thief on the cross, who confessed : 
"We indeed receive the due reward of our deeds," and 
prayed : "Lord, remember me, when Thou comest into 
Thy kingdom." 

And "the dimly burning wick" stands for the be- 
liever, who has already received the forgiveness of his 
sins, in whose heart love has been kindled, but alas! 
what a weak flame it has become, perhaps only a mis- 



88 THE EPIPHANY FESTIVAL 

erable spark. Our knowledge' of Him is often so faulty 
and dim; our faith so little and wavering; our hope 
so weak and lame; our love so poor and cold; the 
fruits we bring so scanty ; our sanctification so imper- 
fect ; our heart so dry and dead. We are a wick, which 
a puff of temptation would blow out, a little stormy 
affliction extinguish. But He will not quench it; He 
will feed such a wick with holy oil and strengthen its 
struggling flame. Of this every closet bears witness, 
where He hears the sigh of repentance; every pillow, 
wet with tears of godly sorrow; our churches, where 
He offers free grace and full forgiveness; and every 
dying bed, lit up with His greeting of peace. 

His own brethren of Israel, to whom He came in 
all humility, repaid His meekness and love with in- 
gratitude. And to this day thousands treat Him thus, 
though they have been baptized in His name and re- 
deemed with His blood. They thrust away this meek 
and lowly One, and despise the salvation He brings 
them. May none of us so reward His love, only with 
base ingratitude. Let Him not call and plead with us 
in vain. Let us come that we may have life, and more 
abundantly. And now let us look at 

The Great Work of His Grace. 

Of this the 6th verse speaks : "I Jehovah have called 
Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thy hand, and will 
keep Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people, 
for a light of the Gentiles ; to open the blind eyes, to 
bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them 
that sit in darkness out of the prison-house." This is 
a picture of the great work of Redemption, which this 
servant of God wrought in obedience to God and in 



THE EPIPHANY FESTIVAL 89 

love to His brethren. He "called Him in righteousness, 
"that is to make us right in His sight, to establish such 
righteousness upon earth. What the servants of sin 
have not done, that He fulfills : namely the whole Law 
of God to its very last jot and tittle. What these ser- 
vants of sin must needs have borne and suffered, that 
He bears and suffers for them : namely the just judg- 
ments of a righteous God against sinful man, so that 
they are satisfied for time and eternity. 

He is indeed "a covenant of the people." In His 
blood is made that covenant of eternal grace and peace 
between us and God, which Isaiah records: "The 
mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but 
My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither the 
covenant of My peace be removed." Now in spite of 
our sinful misdeeds, there is mercy for His sake. Now 
we have forgiveness of sins in Him, and become accept- 
able to God through His Beloved. Now we are chil- 
dren of God in Him, and can cry in all our guilty need 
and anxiety, "Abba, Father." Now we are heirs of 
glory, and can sing with joyful confidence : 

"Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness 

My beauty are and shining dress." No. 329. 

"He opens the blind eyes," so that they see their 
own misery and His glory, and believe in Him with all 
their heart. He breaks all bonds, and "brings out the 
prisoners from the dungeon" into the glorious liberty 
of the children of God. He delivers us not only from 
the guilt of sin, but from its power; it has no more 
dominion over us. That is a great and glorious eman- 
cipation. Therefore as He dies on the Cross, and such 
a work for us is done, He cries in triumph, and not 



90 THE EPIPHANY FESTIVAL 

pitifully as he told of His thirst: "It is finished," or 
accomplished. 

Well may we mourn, that we made Him serve thus 
with our sins. And well may we praise His great and 
Holy Name, who "did not fail nor be discouraged, till 
He set justice in the earth," and carried out God's gra- 
cious plan to its triumphant completion. Here there 
could be "no peace without victory." But if the Ser- 
vant of Jehovah is so crowned in our text, how careful 
we should be not to rob Him of a single jewel in His 
crown. If one of us is lost through indifference, unbe- 
lief, or disobedience, then one of the jewels will have 
fallen from His crown, which He purchased with such 
a price and paid for with His life. Therefore let us 
vow solemnly that in this New Year we will cleave to 
Him in true faith and faithfulness, be the people of 
His possession, live under Him in His Kingdom, and 
serve only Him. 

That is the best New Year's resolution we can 
make, and it includes all the others we should make 
and keep. Let us not look at ourselves, in all our 
weakness and shortcomings ; neither at the children of 
this world, who have no eyes or heart for this great 
Servant of God and cast stones of contempt at Him; 
but let us look to Him as "our wisdom and righteous- 
ness, redemption and sanctification." Here is the great 
difference between the children of God and those of 
the world. The latter in this season of outlook into 
the future, set out upon the New Year in their own 
strength, while we seek Him whose strength is made 
perfect in our weakness. They mean honestly enough 
to be better men in the New Year, but they forget that 
water will not rise above its source. We put ourselves 



THE EPIPHANY FESTIVAL 91 

in connection with the great reservoir of Heavenly 
grace and holy living, that the power of God through 
Word and Sacrament may cleanse and strengthen us. 
They rely upon earthly means and fellowship ; we look 
to that great Servant of Jehovah, whom Isaiah fore- 
told, and whose Divine work in the heart and life of 
man is the wonder of the ages. 

He Will Bring Forth Justice to the Gentiles. 

This promises a great and glorious victory. It 
means the revelation of the gracious rights and priv- 
ileges which a faithful God has provided for them, and 
is a precious promise. As we look back over the his- 
tory of these nineteen centuries we see how it has been 
fulfilled. Our Gospel today celebrates a Festival, which 
consists in the coming to the Christ-child of the Wise 
Men from the East with their gifts and homage. We 
are not told how many they were. The tradition that 
says they were three, is like all such legends ; but we 
are sure they were not numbered by hundreds. How 
differently the millions of Gentiles come now. The 
Cross stands on the altars of every land, so that the 
sun never sets upon it. The Gospel of peace in His 
Name is preached to the ends of the earth. In ever- 
widening circles this promise of "justice in truth" or 
a favorable, faithful decree for the heathen is being 
carried out. 

Of course we see also how hatred and enmity arise 
to oppose the spread of His Word and Kingdom. But 
we are not dismayed by that. No one will be able to 
lie away the Word of God, or to defeat His gracious 
purposes. He will win the day, and hold the field for 
ever, as He did in the recognition of the Church by the 



92 THE EPIPHANY FESTIVAL 

state in the days of Constantine, and its triumph over 
the bloody persecutions by Imperial Rome. The Chris- 
tians are no longer thrown to the lions, but themselves 
become lions in their missionary zeal and courage. We 
have God's own Word for this final triumph: "I am 
Jehovah, that is My Name; and My glory will I not 
give to another, neither My praise to graven images" 
(v. 8). "He who created the heavens and stretched 
them forth, who laid the foundations of the earth, and 
gave breath to all people who walk in it, will know how 
to defend His cause and Kingdom from these idols 
and their mad followers. He will not rest until these 
enemies become the footstool of His Dear Son, who 
sits at His right hand. 

This is He, who said : "Be of good cheer ; I have 
overcome the world !" and again : "It is finished !" We 
can trust Him to keep on overcoming the world and 
to finish His work in it and in us. Isaiah says: "He 
will not fail or be discouraged, till He have set justice 
in the earth." In spite of all the guile and might of 
the old enemy, of all the rage and enmity of the world, 
of all the weakness and failure of His followers, He 
will not fail or be discouraged, until He has carried 
on His work to its final victory. 

Therefore we ourselves, beloved, ought not be dis- 
couraged. Though many a stumble and fall keep us 
busy, we shall not fail. Though there be many a back- 
set and hindrance in our spiritual life, it will not fail. 
If we hold fast to the hem of His garment here in the 
Word and Sacrament, we shall be helped ; if our works 
begin and continue in His name, they shall prevail. 
Therefore we need not be discouraged about those 
we love. Though they strive against His grace, that 



THE EPIPHANY FESTIVAL 93 

work of grace will go on in their souls, and not fail. 
He will search them out and knock at their hearts 
again and again, until He has won them for Himself 
and made them blessed in His Kingdom. Only let us 
not grow weary of confessing His Name before them 
in word and work, and of praying diligently for them. 

Neither should we be discouraged about this whole 
wide sinful world. Though the heathen despise His 
person and refuse His Word, this promise is especially 
for them, the Gentiles. "The isles shall wait for His 
Law," and hunger for His Gospel at last. Only let us 
not grow weary of doing our part with our prayers 
and gifts and works of love. The Epiphany is a mis- 
sionary season, and bids us go on with such works in 
firm and joyful faith, until these sure promises of God 
are fulfilled. This Servant of Jehovah shall prevail 
over all His enemies. "To Him the heathen are given 
as an inheritance, and the ends of the earth as a pos- 
session." And therefore, "The voice of rejoicing and 
salvation is in the tents of the righteous : the right hand 
of Jehovah doeth valiantly," (Ps. 118, 15). 

One day every knee shall bow before this Servant 
of Jehovah, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ 
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Of that we 
can have no doubt. Let our only anxiety be, that then 
He will confess us before His Father in Heaven. 
"Blessed," says our Lord Jesus "are they that hear the 
Word of God and keep it." May that blessing abide 
with us today, as with believing heart we do His bid- 
ding. May our New Year be another year with Him, 
in the Word for study and strength, and in the Work 
as servants like our Lord ever "about our Father's bus- 
iness." Amen. 



FIRST SUNDAY IN EPIPHANY. 
Gospel: Luke 2, 41-52. 

I. Sam. 1,26-28: "And she said, Oh my Lord, as thy soul 
liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying 
unto Jehovah. For this child I prayed; and Jehovah hath given 
me my petition which I asked of Him: therefore also I have 
granted him ,to Jehovah: as long as he liveth he is granted to 
Jehovah. And he worshipped Jehovah there." 

Hymns: 

535. Once in Royal David's City. v. 3f. 
559. Heavenly Father, Send Thy Blessing, v. 3. 
174. Saviour, who Thy flock art Feeding, v. 2f. 
38. As With Gladness Men of Old. v. 2f. 

Children Are a Gift From God and to God. 

The childhood of our Lord lies before us like a gar- 
den, behind whose walls we know there is much beauty, 
but into which we cannot look. The only gap in that 
wall is the Gospel for this Sunday, in which we see the 
twelve-year-old child Jesus going up with His parents 
to the Passover at Jerusalem. We mark how He tarries 
behind because of His great love for the House of God 
and God's Word. We see Him among the teachers of the 
Law, both hearing them and asking them questions. 
We hear from His lips the meaningful inquiry : "Wist 
ye not that I must be about My Father's business?" 
We see how He returns with His parents to Nazareth 
and is subject to them. And at its close this Gospel 
records how "He increased in wisdom and stature, and 
in favor with God and man." 

What a holy and blessed childhood ! Who does not 
wish that his own children and all the children of the 



FIRST SUNDAY IN EPIPHANY 95 

church might grow up like this Christ Child? And this 
is not a foolish wish, which can never be fulfilled. We 
read just such a record in the 0. T. of a poor sinful 
child of man : "And the child Samuel grew on, and in- 
creased in favor both with Jehovah, and also with 
men," (2,, 26). What we can do to bring this happy- 
consummation to pass, we learn from the parents of 
Samuel, and especially from that good woman Hannah, 
his mother. We properly remind ourselves on this Sun- 
day of the serious view Christian parents should take 
of their children, and first of all that 

Children Are a Gift We Receive From the Lord. 

"Lo, children are a heritage of Jehovah; 

And the fruit of the womb is His reward," (Ps. 127, 3). 

That Hannah had learned. For many years the 
Lord had withheld from her the joy of holding in her 
arms a child she could call her own, and because of 
this, her heart was full of sorrow. But she turned 
after a time to the right source of help; she went to 
Shiloh where was the Tabernacle of Jehovah. Here 
she prayed and wept before the Lord, and vowed, if He 
gave her a son, she would give him to the Lord all the 
days of his life. And the Lord heard her prayer, and 
granted her petition. Therefore she called his name 
"Samuel," heard of God, and sang that great song of 
rejoicing which we find in the next chapter, and coming 
to Eli said : "I am the woman that stood by thee here 
* * * and Jehovah hath given me my petition." 

Children are a gift from the Lord, and He gives 
them to whom He will, and refuses in like manner. 
Prosperous people, who could easily bring up a whole 



96 FIRST SUNDAY IN EPIPHANY 

family of children, often have few or none at all to re- 
joice in ; and poor folks, who have a hard time to earn 
their crust of bread, often have more than one would 
think they could care for. Godly couples, whom we 
could trust to bring them up in the nurture and admo- 
nition of the Lord, sometimes have no children ; and 
others, whose example leads their own children astray, 
have children only to ruin them in body and soul. Those 
who long for such a gift from the Lord with all their 
heart, may not receive it ; and others complain bitterly 
because they have more than they think they can pro- 
vide for. All this is true without reckoning in those 
sins which interfere with the good and gracious will of 
God. We need not speak of these, for every secret sin 
He sets in the light of His countenance, and the pun- 
ishment for it which follows so speedily in the years 
on earth is a sufficient preaching of His wrath against 
adultery and abortion. Apart from human sin which 
gives and takes life contrary to His laws, God's ways 
in sending or witholding children are marvellous in our 
eyes in spite of the wicked talk about birth-control. It 
is not we who order things here, but "Children are a 
gift from the Lord." 

Again, they are a precious gift, and we value them 
the more, because they are so easily taken from us. In 
its tender weakness a child is a feeble flame which a 
puff of air can extinguish. How many diseases threaten 
them, and what days of worry and sleepless nights they 
cause us ! In spite of all our care a very large propor- 
tion of children die before they are a year old, or in 
the first three years of their life. 

They are precious also because of God's holy angels, 
who are sent to minister unto them. Our Lord Jesus 



FIRST SUNDAY IN EPIPHANY 97 

says (Mat. 18, 10) : "See that ye despise not one of 
these little ones; for I say unto you that in Heaven 
their angels do always behold the face of My Father 
who is in Heaven." They watch over them more won- 
derfully than we realize, and report daily at their 
Heavenly headquarters the good and the evil men do to 
these little ones. We must have a conscience in our 
care of the children at home and in the school, for each 
of them is the prince of a noble House; they are all 
little Majesties surrounded by an unseen but glorious 
retinue. 

Again they are precious because our Lord sets 
them before us as examples. When He called that lit- 
tle child (Mat. 18, 2), and set him in the midst of the 
disciples, He said: "Except ye turn, and become as 
little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the King- 
dom of Heaven." Thus God makes them in a way mes- 
sengers to us. When the children raised their hosan- 
nahs before the Lord, and the high priests and scribes 
were provoked at this, Jesus said : "Yea ; did ye never 
read, Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou 
has perfected praise" (Mat. 21, 16). He took a special 
pleasure in their hymns of praise, and gave their pray- 
ers a hearing. 

This the godly men of ancient days knew, and 
therefore in every time of need and danger they brought 
with them into the House of Prayer their children. 
When Melanchthon at a conference was troubled by 
the dark future of the Evangelical Church, he was com- 
forted more than by anything else as he heard the chil- 
dren nearby singing: "Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy 
Word," (No. 167). He returned to the pastors and 
delegates, exclaiming : "Friends, let us not doubt or fear. 



FIRST SUNDAY IN EPIPHANY 



While these children pray for us, no power of Pope 
or Devil shall do us harm!" The pious Elector Fred- 
erick the Magnanimous recognized how God indulges 
the prayers of His little ones. When after five years 
of exile for the Gospel's sake he returned to Coburg, 
and a chorus of children in the public square welcomed 
him with the hymn : "Lord God, we worship Thee." (No. 
496), he said with tears in his eyes to the court- 
preacher by his side : "There is the power which prayed 
me out of my exile." 

And once more they are precious because our 
Saviour said : "Whoso shall receive one such little child 
in My name receiveth Me," (Mat. 18, 5). And our last 
doubt about their being precious in His sight vanishes 
as we hear the fearful warning of the next verse : "But 
whoso shall (is about to) cause one of these little ones 
that believe on Me to stumble, it is profitable for him 
that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, 
and that he be sunk in the depths of the sea." 

Therefore Christian parents rejoice with all their 
hearts in the birth of their children, and thank the 
Lord as did Hannah. They provide for them carefully 
as they grow up, but the ancients had a quaint saying, 
which suggests that often our children really provide 
for us instead. They believed that at the Creation the 
stalks of wheat and corn were lined with ears from top 
to bottom, and that after men fell, God began to strip 
these off one after another, until He remembered the 
little children, and for their sakes He left that one ear 
on top of the wheat-stem and the two or three on the 
side of the corn-stalk. For a like reason Luther was 
wont to say : "We old fools eat along with the children ; 
not they with us." And there is foundation for this 



FIRST SUNDAY IN EPIPHANY 99 

view in Holy Scripture. When Hagar wandered with 
her son Ishmael in the wilderness, and cried for thirst, 
we are told in so many words that "God heard the voice 
of the child," and sent an angel to show them a spring 
in the desert for its sake. Many a home has been 
blessed because of the children there, and God has pro- 
vided it with food for their sakes. This is what the old 
proverb means : "Many children, many blessings." And 
many a city has been spared, like Nineveh, only because 
there were in it "many children too small to know their 
right hand from their left." 

Christian parents then will know how to value 
their children. When the Duke of Tuscany had shown 
a guest all the treasures of his house, and his vessels 
of silver and gold, he ended by saying : "The best of all 
remains to be shown you," whereupon he called his 
sons and daughters, and introduced them to the vis- 
itor. And we will gladly shoulder some care and 
trouble to bring up our children. A good mother, who 
had been up all night with a sickly child, was asked: 
"How can you put up with so much annoyance, and 
still love that child?" She answered: "I am doing this 
for one of the children of God, whom Christ redeemed 
with His precious blood." Again these precious 

Children Are a Gift We Give to the Lord. 

We have a holy duty and great responsibility to- 
ward our children because we must one day give ac- 
count how we have dealt with this great trust. The 
gift must be returned unto the Lord again. In this 
too we may learn of Hannah, the godly mother of Sam- 
uel, who says to Eli: "Therefore also I have granted 
(or lent) him to Jehovah; as long as he liveth he is 



100 FIRST SUNDAY IN EPIPHANY 

granted to Jehovah." She brings him to the Tent of 
Jehovah, and there he grows up and serves the Lord. 
And how faithfully she cares for him even there, we see 
by the coat she makes each year, and brings for little 
Samuel, when she and Elkanah come up for the yearly 
sacrifice (2, 19). It was very hard that she could not 
keep her son with her and rejoice over him as he grew 
up, but she bore this with godly patience. The white 
ephods she kept on making for him reminded her of 
her vow ; and each year as she went to Shiloh with her 
gift, she gave him anew to the Lord, repeating in her 
heart that she "had lent him to the Lord, as long as 
he lived." This mother looked upon children as a gift 
which must be returned to the Lord. 

That view must be ours, too, and so thoroughly 
that we will let no other wish interfere with it. Our 
one prayer must be that one day we may say before 
the Throne : "Behold, I and the children whom Jehovah 
hath given me" (Isaiah 8, 18). Therefore we should 
bring them early to the Lord in Holy Baptism. That is 
our first errand, when as a united family we can once 
more go up to the House of the Lord, or can arrange 
for friends and relatives to gather in our home. For 
we know that our children, flesh born of flesh, are made 
by this act of God His children, and born anew of 
water and the Spirit as heirs of His Heavenly King- 
dom. 

Therefore we teach them to pray, as soon as they 
can fold their hands and lisp the words, for this, too is 
surely included in our Saviour's saying: "Suffer the 
little children to come unto Me; forbid them not; for 
to such belongeth the Kingdom of God," (Mark 10, 13) . 
This is especially the mother's duty, while the father 



FIRST SUNDAY IN EPIPHANY 101 

should take them to church when they are old enough, 
as Elkanah led the way to the Tabernacle at Shiloh 
and Joseph to the Temple at Jerusalem. Like Abra- 
ham we are to "command our children and household 
after us to keep the way of the Lord." 

Neither should we forget the wise Solomon's 
warning about wholesome discipline : \ 

"He that spareth his rod, hateth his son, 

But he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes." (Prov. 13, 24.) 

Those who are not enough in earnest to punish, 
when kind words and moral suasion are poured out as 
water on the sand, only lay up wrath for themselves and 
their children in days to come. Yet here we must not 
forget what the Apostle Paul writes (Eph. 6, 4) : "Ye 
fathers, provoke not your children to wrath : but nur- 
ture them in the chastening and admonition of the 
Lord." That forbids us to beat them unmercifully, be- 
cause they annoy us. It must be the Lord's displeasure 
we think of, and they are made to feel. Luther says : 
"The apple and the rod must keep each other com- 
pany." Our children should feel the same love in our 
chastening of them, as they do in our indulging of 
them at other times; and that our only desire is to 
keep them out of evil and what is evil out of them. 
That which is not a godly anger only thrashes more 
of the devil into them than out of them. 

Above all else we owe to them a goodly example 
in our own lives, if God's gifts to us are to be returned 
to Him. We ourselves; must deem God's Word holy, 
willingly hear it in His House, and love to read it in 
our own, or we fail in our duty to our children, and 
our own souls as well. It is sheer folly, when a par- 



102 FIRST SUNDAY IN EPIPHANY 

ent decks a child with finery, gives it an education, 
teaches it good manners, and sees to it in short that 
the child gets along in the world, and then speaks of 
having done his duty by the child. A part of this duty 
is to lead the child on the Heavenward way, and an 
awful judgment awaits those who neglect this, for 
"their children shall be their judges." Many children 
are sent to the Catechetical Class whose parents we 
miss at our services, and their sons and daughters miss 
the influence of parental example sadly in their lives. 
Every parent ought to feel that he is a co-worker with 
God in bringing up His children ; and then God will be 
a co-worker with him, and bless their home training. 

Then, like Samuel, they will "grow on, and be in 
favor both with Jehovah, and also with men." Then 
when the time comes for them to leave our roof, we 
need not feel anxious about them. Our teaching, pray- 
ers, and example will tell. Though for a time they may 
stray from the right path, we may rest assured that the 
child of so many tears and prayers will not be lost, and 
may comfort ourselves with the promise: "Believe on 
the Lord, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house," or 
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he 
is old he will not depart from it." Though we may be 
called away from our children, we need not be troubled 
about them in the hour of dying. Then we can say 
with David : 

"I have been young, and now am old 

Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, 

Nor his seed begging bread," (Ps. 37, 25). 

Neither, if they be called from us will we mourn 
them, as they do who have no hope. When the children 
of the great commentator Bengel had just died, his wife 



FIRST SUNDAY IN EPIPHANY 103 

asked in her sick room: "What are the children doing?" 
He answered with composure: "Loving and praising 
God !" So we may say with Job : "The Lord gave, and 
the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the 
Lord!" Or with Hannah: "I have lent him to the 
Lord." 

And if some ask : What has this sermon to do with 
us who are not parents? Perhaps you are sponsors or 
relatives to little children. You too, then, have a part 
in returning those children, who are a gift from the 
Lord, to the Lord again. And even if you are not 
sponsors or relatives, yet in our schools you have an 
opportunity to work lovingly for these least of Christ's 
brethren, and in our orphans' homes you may reap the 
reward promised such. He who would build up the 
Kingdom of God on earth must begin with the children, 
the foundation of the future Church. For that may 
the Lord give us all wisdom and grace and loving faith- 
fulness. Amen. 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 
Gospel: John 2, 1-11. 

Psalm 128: "Blessed is every one that feareth Jehovah, 
That walketh in His ways. 
For thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands : 
Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. 
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine, 
In the innermost parts of thy house; 
Thy children like olive plants, 
Round about thy table, etc." 

Hymns: 

416. O Blessed House, That Cheerfully Receiveth. v. If. 
414. Lord, who at Cana's wedding Feast, v. 1. 

37. Songs of Thankfulness and Praise, v. 2. 
447. Evening and Morning, v. 3. 
328. Jesus, Thou Art My Righteousness, v. 4. 

The Blessed House. 

We find our Lord Jesus in these Epiphany Gospels 
in different places: now on the mountain, then in the 
plain ; now on the land, then on the lake ; now in the 
city, then in the desert; now in the Temple of God, 
then in the home of men. Thus He would hallow each 
place where "we live and move and have our being." 
We find Him among different kinds of men: scribes 
and Pharisees, fishermen and publicans, the leprous 
and the clean, men and women, old folks and little 
children. Thus He manifested His coming to earth to 
save "all sorts and conditions of men." We see Him on 
different occasions: now at a marriage feast, then by 
a sickbed, and near to a grave. Thus He manifests 
Himself as a Saviour for the sad and the glad, the sick 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 105 

and the sound, the living and the dying. One who 
pities and helps us all and always. 

In our Gospel today He is at a wedding. It is 
the only wedding the N. T. records, but this one in- 
stance makes plain that He would also hallow and bless 
our wedded life. And if we make Him our Chief Guest 
on that occasion, and the Great Friend of our home 
and heart ever after, His blessing shall never fail here. 
This Gospel message only repeats the promises of 
our 0. T. Psalm. The Lord bless us in this also, that 
the man of God may be thoroughly furnished to every 
good work. Both picture "The Blessed Home," and 
tell us 

On What Its Blessing Rests. 

The children of this world often begin their wed- 
ded life in a very loose and careless way. It is founded 
largely on a pretty face, a pleasant disposition, social 
position, wealthy or influential relatives. These are 
the strands out of which many a marriage tie has been 
woven ; and so they enter into this holy estate. They 
think they have a good start in life ; they expect to be 
happy together. But what happens as time goes on? 
One can soon see enough of a handsome face and tire 
of it, especially if behind it there are the snaky con- 
tents of a "Frau Welt," as a wise sculptor pictured the 
world. Often those who modestly think themselves 
homely, try to compensate for this by cultivating many 
"homely" virtues, which make them lovelier far in 
the end than their empty brothers and sisters. Posi- 
tion in the world and money never yet made any one 
happy. And that pleasant disposition is often only 
frail stucco-work and paint, and not the iron frame- 
work which lasts. There come times in any home 



106 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

when views and wishes cross and class, sensitiveness 
is aroused, and good humor vanishes. These are days 
when we should arm ourselves with humility and pa- 
tience, gentleness and love. But the strength for that 
is lacking in the children of this world; they do not 
cultivate and exercise these Christian virtues. There- 
fore many of the world's marriages prove a failure. 
The four walls cannot make a home; they seek their 
pleasures outside of it, and are not always very choice 
in their selection of these poor substitutes for the 
solid joys of a true home-life. They quarrel, and make 
home a veritable place of torment. This is one reason 
adultery and divorce are frequent among us, though 
we are nominally a Christian nation. 

In such a marriage there is little or nothing seen 
of "The Blessed House," which is our theme. And no 
wonder, for it was not built up on the right foundation. 
The blessing of the Christian home rises out of the 
fear of the Lord. Our Psalm, which describes it, be- 
gins : "Blessed is every one that feareth Jehovah, that 
walketh in His ways." 

Like this Psalm, then, our marriage must begin 
in the fear of the Lord. Not the outward attractions 
of face and disposition, position and wealth, dare lead 
to the choice of a spouse ; but above all things we must 
ask whether the fear of the Lord dwells in that heart. 
They tell of a wedding, where a good Christian woman 
heard the man who was to be her husband mocking at 
God and His Word, and at the last moment said: "I 
have changed my mind. I will not be your bride. You 
do not love the Lord. The wife of such a man can 
never be happy." She was wise, as subsequent events 
proved. The daughter of Jean Paul Richter, the great 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 107 

philosopher, prayed that God would send her a hus- 
band who loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all his 
heart, and who for His sake would love her, even if 
beauty faded and health decayed. The same story is 
told of the wife of John Mathesius, one of the early 
reformers, who published the first biography of Luther 
with seventeen of his sermons. 

In a matter of so much importance no one should 
risk the happiness of a lifetime upon the poor expec- 
tation that the fear of God and the love of Christ will 
come afterwards with the years of married life. The 
word and example of a godly spouse do not always con- 
vert the unbelieving and indifferent one ; but instead 
they may catch the contagion of the godless and worldly 
and be led astray from their Christian faith and life. 
Paul writes to his first converts at Corinth, where 
many had a heathen spouse: "How knowest thou, O 
wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how 
knowest thou, husband, whether thou shalt save thy 
wife?" (I Cor. 7, 16). And so he counsels them to let 
the unbelieving spouse depart, if he is set on doing so, 
and live unmarried unto the Lord. 

And inasmuch as parents stand over us in 
the place of God, we ought not to enter into this estate 
contrary to their counsels and consent. If we despise 
those who are God's representatives, we really despise 
God Himself. Where their blessing is lacking, there 
God's blessing is lacking, too. Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 
says in the Apocrypha (3, 9) : "The blessing of the 
father establisheth the houses of children; but the 
curse of the mother rooteth out foundations." 

The Christian banns and service, with which mar- 
riage is solemnized among us, are the outward expres- 



108 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

sion of this desire to begin our married life in the fear 
of the Lord. It stands as such in contrast to the civil 
marriage, which may be consummated by any officer of 
the law. Here the 0. T. Apocrypha have another great 
lesson for us, as the youthful Tobias enters into his 
marriage estate with prayer. Though not inspired 
writings, we have many helpful hints in them, which 
our Psalm sums up in the blessedness of those who 
"walk in God's ways." Those who honor His House 
as they visit it together, and His Word as they read 
it diligently in their homes, unite their own hearts 
and hands by each day of worship and prayer, and such 
a godly union grows more close and inseparable every 
day. And now we ask concerning "The Blessed House." 

In What Does Its Blessing Consist? 

Our Psalm speaks first of the man, as the head of 
the house. To him the promise is given here: 

"For thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands: 

Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee." 

Here in the Christian home we labor honestly and 
diligently in the sweat of our brows, as God commands. 
What that work is makes no difference to the Lord, 
whether in the field or shop, office or store, if it is only 
an honest and useful work. But we are not to drop 
some work we do not feel like doing, and loaf around 
until we find something we like better. We are to fol- 
low the calling God's providence sets before us, and be 
obedient to His will. To such a one the promise here 
is, that he shall be supported by the work of his hands. 
There will be food for him and his, so that they may 
be content and "happy." It shall be well with him even 
in sickness and trials, and he shall see much good even 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 109 

in what men call hard times. But men have a rod in 
pickle for the promoter, the manipulator, the agitator, 
and the speculator. 

Again the promise is : 

"Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine, 
In the innermost parts of thy house." 

How beautiful and meaningful this picture is ! The 
First Psalm says of the godly man, who walketh not 
in the way of sinners, but delights in the Law of the 
Lord: 

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, 

That bringeth forth its fruit in its season, 

Whose leaf also does not wither; 

And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." 

But the wife is not likened to a strong tree which 
defies the wind and weather ; neither to a pretty flower 
which blooms in a garden along the street, where any 
one may reach over and pluck it. She is a vine cling- 
ing to the walls of the patio, or inner court, unseen 
from the streets, and spreading coolness and loveliness 
in the intimate family circle. Moreover she is pictured 
here as no mere ornament, but a fruitful vine, whose 
luscious clusters of grapes hang before each window 
and door, where her dear ones look for nourishment 
and comfort. Her husband refreshes himself with her 
love and faithfulness ; she adorns and blesses the home. 
The wise Solomon says (Prov. 31, 10) : 

"A worthy woman who can find? 

For her price is far above rubies. 

The heart of her husband trusteth in her, 

And he shall have no lack of gain. 

She doeth him good and not evil 

All the days of her life." 

And yet again the promise runs : 

"Thy children like olive plants, 
Round about thy table." 



110 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

Sometimes God withholds children from the god- 
liest couples, but not as Israel thought, in reproach or 
punishment. He may have a special work for them to 
do among the children of others, or for His dear or- 
phans. What our Psalm has in mind is, that when the 
Lord bestows upon us such gifts, they shall be like the 
layers or runners of the olive. It does not say they 
will be props, neither that they will already yield us 
much fruit and usefulness, but that our children shall 
be like these green branches, which refresh our eyes 
in summer and in winter. In time they will grow into 
sturdy props, and gladden our hearts in days to come 
as fruitful branches. Meanwhile they make our table 
and every room in the house lovely and worth living 
and laboring for. And even if they are called from 
"The Blessed House" on earth, they will remain "olive 
branches," forever green and flourishing in His garden 
on high. So is it with him who fears the Lord. 

But with the children of this world things are very 
different. Wife and child are often a burden there, or 
idols upon which we hang our hearts, only to be re- 
paid for this with bitterness of soul. They are not the 
vine and olive which adorn and enliven the house, but 
often thorns and thistles which wound and trouble the 
heart. What our Psalm would teach us is, that in the 
Christian home the man is the pillar supporting the 
home, the wife the vine adorning it, and the children 
the hope of its future. In it there will always be good 
days, come what may; and God's blessing will bring 
sunshine even when the skies are dark. And finally 
we ask: 

How Far Does Its Blessing Reach? 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 111 

"Behold, thus shall the man be blessed 

That feareth Jehovah. 

Jehovah bless thee out of Zion; 

And see thou the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. 

Yea, see thou thy children's children, 

Peace be upon Israel." 

This is the goodly close of the Psalm. It shows us 
how far the blessing of God reaches, and how broad 
and deep it is. Jerusalem, was their Holy City, and 
every Jew felt himself a citizen of it. Here was the 
royal palace from which the land was governed ; here 
the Temple whence God's blessing flowed into every 
home. The "good of Jerusalem" meant the good of the 
whole land, and the welfare of the Church. Out of 
such blessed houses a blessed city is built, and out of 
such cities a blessed land. And if the Church has such 
homes to rest on, then it will stand fast and flourish 
among men. Both the King's throne and God's altars 
stand upon god-fearing marriages and homes, or else 
they both fall when they have only the godless to look 
to for support. No true patriot or zealous servant of 
God can wish anything more or better for State and 
Church than that marriage feasts like this at Cana be 
celebrated, and the next generation be brought up in 
homes like that of Mary and Joseph at Nazareth. 

And now our Psalm reaches out into the days to 
come, and speaks of a blessing outlasting the years. 
Its promises are not only for the young, who are set- 
ting out on their married life like the couple at Cana. 
Think not that it has no meaning for us who are grow- 
ing old, whose children have become men and women, 
and whose life draws to its close. There is a blessing 
here for those whose day is spent, and in whose sky 
the shades of evening are gathering, God's blessing 
that abides on to the close. The promise is that "they 



112 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

shall see their children's children." The joys of ear- 
lier days shall return, as new little olive branches 
gather about the table, none the less dearer than those 
which first adorned it. Those anniversaries are in- 
deed worthy of the name of a silver or a golden wed- 
ding, which see the fear of the Lord we have sown, 
bearing rich and abundant fruits not only in the regard 
and affection of our fellow men and the favor of our 
God, but fruits ripening then in the godly lives of our 
children and children's children. That is a glorious 
evening of life, when in the "Blessed House" we rest 
from the burden and heat of the day, and rejoice in the 
fruits of our Christian life and labor. 

And this evening is lit up by the sunset glory of 
the blessed hope, that one day we shall all meet around 
the Throne of God, to love and praise Him forever. 
Some times in these homes of earth, the promises of 
the Word seem to have failed us, and there is many a 
loss and cross to be borne, yet here, too, we find that 
last saying fulfilled: "Peace be upon Israel." Here 
men shall fold their hands like the Psalmist, and say : 

Whom have I in Heaven but Thee, 

And there is none on earth that I desire beside Thee." 

Here faith and hope shall lift up our heads, be- 
cause we know that God's promises have their perfect 
fulfillment for us in another life and a better world, 
and because we Christians always look out beyond the 
blessings of earth, few or many as they may be. There- 
fore, 

"Blessed is every one that feareth Jehovah, 
That walketh in His ways." 

No matter what shadows rest upon its roof-tree 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 113 

for a time, where the peace of God abides upon His 
Israel, we write above that door : 

"Blessed House! It shall be well with thee." 

"0 Blessed house, that cheerfully receiveth 
Thy visits, Jesus Christ, the soul's true Friend, 
That far beyond all other guests, believeth 
It must to Thee its warmest cheer extend ; * * * 
Where every heart to Thee is fondly turning, 
Where every eye for Thee with pleasure speaks, 
Where all to know Thy will are truly yearning, 
And every one to do it promptly seeks." No. 416. 

Amen. 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 
Gospel: Matthew 8, 1-13. 



II. Kings 5, 1-14: "Now Naaman, captain of the host of the 
king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, 
because by him Jehovah had given victory unto Syria: he was 
also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. And the Syrians 
had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the 
land of Israel a little maiden; and she waited on Naaman's wife. 
And she said unto her mistress, Would that my lord were with 
the prophet that is in Samaria! then would he recover him of 
his leprosy. * * * So Naaman came with his horses and 
chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha 
sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan 
seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou 
shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away and said, 
Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and 
call upon the name of Jehovah his God, and wave his hand over 
the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abanah and Pharpar, 
the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? 
May I not wash in them, and be clean ? So he turned and went 
away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto 
him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some 
great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? How much rather 
then, when he said to thee, Wash, and be clean ? Then he went 
down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to 
the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again, like unto 
the flesh of a little child, and he was clean." 

Hymns: 

264. for a Heart to Praise My God. v. 3f. 
135. O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing. v. 3f. 
286. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation, 
v. 1 f. 
37. Songs of thankfulness and Praise, v. 3. 
360. My Faith Looks Up to Thee. v. 3. 
371. Jesus, Lover of My Soul. v. 3f. 
323. And wilt Thou Pardon, Lord ? v. 3. 

Why Is Our Lord's Gracious Purpose Toward 
Sinners So Often Defeated? 

In our Gospel today our Lord has come down from 
the Sermon on the Mount, and the leper approaches 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 115 

Him, saying: "If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me 
clean." He puts forth His hand, touches him and says : 
"I will, be thou clean." After this a heathen centurion 
comes, lamenting: "My servant lieth at home sick of 
the palsy, grievously tormented." He asks nothing in 
so many words, but our Lord reads the wish in his 
heart. While He walked on earth He was always ready 
to heal and to bless, and such an One He still is as He 
sits at the right hand of the Father. He is willing to 
help in our bodily needs, and especially in those of our 
poor sinful souls. His invitation stands good today, 
as set forth in the Christus Invitator of our church 
windows: "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are 
heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 

But why are so few helped ? On every Lord's Day, 
thousands confess their sins before Him with penitent 
prayers. Yet not all find the peace and joy of perfect 
healing without and within. The fault is not His. He 
still says : "Come for all things are ready." His Word 
and Sacrament have the same grace and power for 
all time and all men. The fault is ours alone, if we 
lack the joy of spiritual health; and who knows how 
many bodily ills might be remedied as well in His 
mercy? This is the new lesson we learn from that 
old story of Naaman the leper. It tells us that many 
are not helped because 

They Have No Eyes for the Harm Sin Has 
Done Them. 

Our 0. T. lesson leads us into a rich and honor- 
able Syrian home. It belongs to the Chief Captain of 
the king, Benhadad. This general had been victorious 
in many battles, and often delivered Syria from her 



116 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

enemies. He was the idol and pride of the Syrians, 
their Wellington, Washington or Hindenburg. And 
yet he was poor and unfortunate above all others, be- 
cause he was a leper. His name did not fit him, for it 
meant "Beautiful," or "Pleasant," while he was fast 
becoming an object of disgust and horror, even to his 
own family. We know by report what this leprosy is 
like, which the Greeks called, "The Eldest Son of 
Death;" and we do not wish to know it by sight, as 
do our missionaries in lands still cursed by men's sins, 
until the limbs of human beings rot off in a liv- 
ing death. To this day it is a question whether there 
will be found a remedy for it ; and no better preventive 
is known than the keeping of God's commandments. 
There was no help for Naaman with all his wealth. 
Amid all his honors, this disease raged in his blood, 
gnawed at his limbs, and the shadow of the grave 
loomed over him. And Naaman realized his misery; 
knew his need. 

We have open eyes for outward loss and damage, 
for bodily sickness and danger ; but we are blind to the 
dangers threatening only our souls at first. This lep- 
rosy is everywhere in the Scripture a type of sin, which 
spreads like bodily diseases and destroys one part 
after another of us : good thoughts, kind feelings, and 
noble deeds, until from the soles of our feet to the 
crown of our head there is no soundness in us (Is. 1, 
5f ) . Sin also affects a whole neighborhood, as children 
catch it from their parents. One sinner may spread 
this disease of sin in some form through a whole city. 
Its contagion is so great, that even in the Christian 
congregation we are not immune from it. That is why 
we must sometimes make an example of some sinners 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 117 

in the Church, to warn others ; as the Law does daily 
in the State. The fornicator, thief and drunkard must 
at times be disciplined among Christians, to help the 
younger generation realize that such sins are not merely 
occasions for a little talk, and are then soon forgotten, 
but high crimes against God's commandments, which 
alone lift our Christian civilization above the wretched 
heathen lands. And sin must be sternly dealt with also 
in ourselves, if we would not see it spread in the lives 
of our children. 

In Israel the leper was shut out of human society, 
and at last died a miserable death. And that sin still 
does. Those who go on in evil ways are cut off more 
and more from their fellow men and even their best 
friends. But worst of all, sin closes against us the door 
of joyful fellowship with Heaven. It is written that 
into the Heavenly Jerusalem "shall enter in no wise 
anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination 
and a lie : but only they that are written in the Lamb's 
book of life." (Rev. 21, 27) . Such is the train of fear- 
ful consequences following the leprosy of sin. 

We see them among our people, and in every fam- 
ily the warning is repeated now and then as some skel- 
eton, which one generation hides away in a closet, 
points the next one to safer paths and the right life. 
Yet how few open their eyes to this dread disease of 
heart and life. Inquire for yourself; ask those in 
charge of our prisons how the inmates blame every- 
body but themselves for putting them behind the bars. 
Their very familiarity with sin has begotten an indif- 
ference and trifling, a coarseness and defiance, which 
is amazing . You hear excuses, as poor as they are 
pitiable. Here and there you may hear a weak, luke- 



118 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

warm confesion, that all men are sinners, but not 
what Isaiah (6, 5) and Paul meant (Rom. 3, 23), by- 
such a saying. Seldom do you hear any cry with him : 
"Wretched man that I am ! Who shall deliver me from 
this body of death?" Seldom do men pray with the 
publican: "God, be merciful to me, the sinner!" 

This is why our Lord Jesus, the merciful Saviour 
of sinners, has no help for so many ; because they do 
not realize the guilt and misery of their sin. He is the 
great and good Physician for body and soul, but who 
ever heard of a doctor curing a man who did not feel 
sick enough to place himself in his care. Many insist 
they are not sick, and do not need a Saviour, but can 
get along very nicely without Him. Away with such 
folly and trifling. Let us examine our words and 
deeds at the close of each day in the light of the Word, 
and look closely into the mirror of the Ten Command- 
ments. Then the Lord will open our eyes to note our 
sinful need, and like the leper we will cry: "Lord, if 
Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean." That is what 
we need. Again our Lord's gracious purpose is hin- 
dered by sinners, because 

They Have Not Open Ears for God's Gracious 
Invitation. 

How wonderful are the ways of our God. He 
loves to carry out His great thoughts and works for 
us through seemingly trifling things. The army of the 
Syrians went on a marauding expedition through the 
land of Israel, and among other captives brought back 
a little maid to serve Naaman's wife. In that strange 
land she wept and bewailed the hard lot which befell 
her as a slave far from the mountains and moors of 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 119 

her beloved Canaan. Yet in the providence of God 
this poor captive was intended to heal the best man 
in all Syria, and bring him to faith in the living God. 
The despised slave was His feed-wire to conduct joy 
into that wealthy home, and through her the Light 
of Truth streamed into the dark shadows of death, 
which had fallen upon that heathen land. When she 
spoke of the mighty prophet of Jehovah who was in 
Israel, Naaman had an open ear for the message of 
hope, and resolved to follow her suggestion. Loaded 
down with gifts he soon accomplished that journey of 
100 miles from Damascus to Samaria. 

God still does such wonderful things today. An 
old proverb says : "God greets many a one, who does not 
thank Him for it." He still has messengers to send 
to poor sinners ; those who run and speak at His nod, 
as this maid did to poor sick Naaman. We often come 
across some verse of Scripture, which pierces as a 
sharp sword our very soul, or as a hammer smites in 
pieces the rock of our pride and self -righteousness. Some 
hymn knocks at our heart or lifts a finger in warning. 
Now it is a good book, a Church paper, or a Christian 
friend who talks earnestly with us. Again it may be 
a person, unknown to us, whose witness and testimony 
is directed of God to our hearts. A gentleman told me 
that when he was a lad he went one Sunday to a 
church in the distant south, where he heard a sermon 
which could not have been a plainer call to do his duty 
if it had been written expressly and made to order for 
him. Yet he had never seen that minister before in his 
life. This is the mark of God's Word, that there is 
always something in it for each attentive and honest 
listener, though he who speaks the Word is thinking 



120 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

largely of himself, and how the Word applies to his own 
life. 

Again God makes a messenger out of some sleepless 
night, when we toss on our beds alone with the thoughts 
of our hearts. A picture of the thorn-crowned Christ, 
which Zinzendorf saw in his youth, shaped all his after 
life with its : "This hast Thou done for me, what have I 
done for Thee ?" And how often God speaks in our con- 
science, which is the receiver of a Heavenly telephone 
in our hearts. We wait by a sick-bed, lie upon one 
ourselves, or a coffin is carried through our front-door, 
and who does not then realize that the Almighty God 
has other preachers beside those in the pulpit, to speak 
in His name to poor sinners ? No matter in what form 
or garb they come, these little maid-servants of God 
make us take heed to our souls, and help us on to 
our salvation. But when such messengers come, such 
grace goes before, how few follow Naaman's example ! 
Having eyes they see not, and having ears they hear 
not the things that belong to their peace. That is the 
second reason so few let themselves be helped of Him, 
and the last is because 

They Have No Heart to Walk His Way 
of Salvation. 

At first Naaman also took the wrong road. He 
thought of the prophet as a kind of sorcerer or pow- 
wower, who did the bidding of the King of Israel obe- 
diently. Therefore he takes with him a letter from 
his King to King Joram, who only thought this im- 
possible appeal to heal a leper hid an excuse to make 
war against him. In our sinful need we too often turn to 
men for help. But there is no help in them, because 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTE REPIPHANY 121 

they are all poor sinners themselves. There is no other 
name under Heaven given among men whereby we 
must be saved, but that of our Lord Jesus. It is to 
Him we must turn, and walk the way of salvation He 
sets before us in His Holy Word. 

When Elisha hears how the King had rent his 
garments in despair at this demand to heal a leper, 
he sends word : "Let him come now to me, and he shall 
know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman 
comes at last with his retinue to Elisha's door. But 
the prophet simply sent out a servant to say : "Go and 
wash in the Jordan seven times." We wonder that 
Elisha, generally so kind and friendly, treats him so 
coldly; but he knew what he was about. Naaman 
must learn humility, before he can be healed. There- 
fore he must stand at the door with all his proud reti- 
nue, and have only a message by a servant. He must 
believe ; therefore he is not to see the prophet himself, 
for he is dealing here only with God, the living God. 
With that God there is no respect of persons, but his 
gifts are free to all. For this reason Elisha refuses 
to look at the costly gifts Naaman brought, though 
Gehazi gloated over them to his ruin. 

At first the proud General would not walk the 
way of salvation which the prophet shows. He is 
offended because Elisha shows him so little respect, 
and most of all because he bids him wash in Jordan. 
He would gladly have given all that wealth of presents 
he brought with him, had Elisha only made a great ado 
over him, and tried to cure him after the fashion of 
the sorcerers of that day (and in our day they are 
much the same). But simply to wash in the muddy 
little Jordan was too much for his pride, while - in his 



122 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

own land flowed rivers clear as crystal, with sands of 
gold, which seemed far better fitted for washing. 
Therefore he says : "I thought, He will surely come out 
to me, and stand, and call on the name of Jehovah his 
God, and wave his hand over the place, and recover 
the leper/' "If I am simply to wash in a river, I might 
have done so at home." It is only when his servants 
say so sensibly, that if he was willing to do some great 
thing much more ought he to do this little thing, that 
he washes and is cleansed. He lays aside his pride and 
unbelief, and goes down humbly and believingly into 
the Jordan. And when he has washed seven times as 
the prophet commanded, when his faith is as that of a 
little child, then his flesh becomes sound and clean as 
a child's, and he returns joyfully to his own country. 

Like Naaman we all have little love by nature for 
God's way of salvation. It is written : "Believe in the 
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." But we 
often refuse to learn the humility and faith which this 
saying demands. We wish to be saved in the way we 
think will do, the one our own smartness prefers. That 
one word of Naaman, "I thought," tells the source of 
the trouble. There is scarcely a passage or doctrine of 
Holy Scripture, to which men do not oppose their "I 
thought." When it speaks of the wrath of God against 
sin, men reply, "I thought He was merciful." The 
Bible records the miracles Jesus wrought, but men 
keep on thinking miracles contrary to the laws of 
Nature. It speaks of condemnation and Hell as 
clearly as of the heavens above our heads, yet men 
love to think this is a figure of speech, and there is no 
real Hell or Devil. It is this "I thought," which 
brought sin into the world in the beginning, and is still 






THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 123 

robbing thousands of their salvation today. With this 
slogan of Reason they pronounce their own sentence, 
as those who refuse to let God's word teach them what 
they should think about sin and grace, eternal life and 
condemnation. 

Again the grace of God in Christ offends man's 
pride. The poor heathen torture themselves to earn 
the salvation they reject as a free gift from God. The 
orthodox Jew keeps the Law with all diligence, as if 
righteousness came by it, instead of simply the knowl- 
edge of sin. The Romish Christian plagues himself 
with fastings, pilgrimages, and penances, that he 
may work out his own salvation. And many an Evan- 
gelical Christian trusts entirely too much to his out- 
ward decency and a few good works. Yet all these 
things have nothing to do with our salvation. There 
is only one way : "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved." "No man cometh to the Father 
but by Me." He who chooses another way of works 
done in pride, and closes up this way of salvation 
through Christ's merit alone, is trifling away his hope 
of eternal life, just as truly as the hypocrite, who 
smoothly professes faith and love for the Lord, but 
belies it by his works and life. 

When we look at the means of grace which Christ 
appointed, we see many behaving just like Naaman. 
They despise the water of Baptism, as he did the Jor- 
dan, and think there must be a better way. They ask : 
"How can water produce such great effects?" In a 
way, Naaman was right; Jordan was no better than 
other streams. But because God appointed this water 
by the mouth of His prophet, this only could cleanse, 
and no Abanah or Pharpar. Just so the water of 



124 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

Baptism does not produce these effects, but the Word 
which stands here makes of this water "a gracious 
water of life and a washing of regeneration in the 
Holy Ghost." Likewise men ask about the Lord's Sup- 
per: "How can bodily eating and drinking produce 
these effects?" And the Catechism answers: they in 
themselves do not, "but the words which stand here, 
namely, given and shed for you for the remission of 
sins ; which words, beside the bodily eating and drink- 
ing, are the chief things in the Sacrament." Blessed 
therefore is he who has not seen, and yet believes ; who 
as he walks God's appointed way of salvation holds 
fast His ordained means of grace. 

And now the sermon is at an end. Once more our 
Lord God has declared to us His gracious will to save. 
In whom shall His Word have saving power, because 
they lay aside their own wisdom and pride, and hear 
it, believe it, and obey it? Our Lord said to His fel- 
low-townsmen of Nazareth : "There were many lepers 
in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet ; and none 
of them were cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." 
It is just as plain that none of us shall be saved, unless 
we have eyes to note the misery sin has wrought in us, 
ears to hear the Gospel message about the Christ, and 
hearts to walk in His appointed way of salvation. 
Amen. 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 
Gospel: Matthew 8, 23-27. 



Gen. 8, 1-20, and its summary in Heb. 11, 7: "By faith Noah, 
being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved 
with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; 
through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the 
righteousness which is according to faith." 

Hymns: 

422. Pleasant Are Thy Courts Above, v. 2. 

371. Jesus, Lover of My Soul. v. 1. 

266. O for a Faith That Will Not Shrink, v. 3. 

270. Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me. 

501. The Ocean Hath No Danger, v. 2. 

502. O Lord, Be With Us When We Sail. 

503. Eternal Father! Strong to Save. v. 2 and 3. 

Noah, an Example of Joyful, Patient 
Thankful Faith. 

"Like Noah's weary dove, 

That soared the earth around, 
But not a resting-place above 

The cheerless waters found: 

O cease, my wandering soul, 

On restless wing to roam; 
All the wide world to either pole 

Has not for thee a home. 

Behold the Ark of God, 

Behold the open door; 
Hasten to gain that dear abode, 

And rove, my soul, no more." 

G. C. Bk. No. 365. 

A ship was struggling along through a great storm 
at sea. The waves were breaking over her deck, and 
threatened to engulf her. The passengers on board 



126 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

were filled with anxiety and terror. Only one little lad 
ten years old, seemed calm and fearless. "Are you not 
afraid?" some one asked. "No," he replied, "my 
father is at the helm." As we take up this Bible nar- 
rative we may well recall our Savior's words (Mat. 
18, 3) : "Except ye turn, and become as little children, 
ye shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." 

That little lad puts these disciples on the lake to 
shame. They had Jesus, the Almighty and Merciful 
Saviour, with them in the ship. And how often they 
had seen His glory manifested to them in wonders of 
grace. Yet when the waves break over their little ves- 
sel, they cry in despair: "Lord, save us, we perish." 
Our Lord must needs rebuke them : "Why are ye fear- 
ful, ye of little faith?" 

But we dare not sit in judgment upon them. How 
seldom we are any better and braver than they. By 
faith we, too, have taken the Lord Jesus into the little 
ship of our lives, have seen His glory and experienced 
His might. His love for us we have known ; it is not 
hidden from us. Yet when storms of trouble roll, and 
waves of temptation dash over us, we are often dis- 
heartened and full of fears. How many cares then fill 
the heart ; how many complaints stream from our lips. 
Verily, we too need more faith in the grace of God. To 
this may the Old Testament record of Noah help us. 
It tells of another vessel which was in great need and 
danger; and the man at its helm, godly Noah, is an 
example for us, first in 

His Joyful Faith. 

We see him building the ark. Few men ever lived 
through such stirring events, as this Noah. In his 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 127 

godly life on earth he beheld with sorrow that "the 
wickedness of man was great, and every imagination 
of the thoughts of his heart was only vanity." It was 
not easy to stand so utterly alone amid an evil genera- 
tion, as Noah did in his day. At length the Lord com- 
manded him to build the ark, and announced that He 
would destroy all flesh, except him and his household. 
And Noah did all that God had commanded him. As 
when one builds a church today, there were few to 
help and many to criticise. But Noah trusted in God 
with prompt and joyful obedience. 

When the day comes, at God's word he enters into 
the ark and takes with him the persons and animals 
which are to be saved. And now the windows of Heaven 
are opened, and the fountains of the great deep are 
broken up. It rains forty days and nights, one after 
another. Higher and higher rise the floods in this 
Deluge of Sin. It buries the evil generation in its 
fearful surges. Still higher it rises, until the highest 
mounain-top there is twenty feet under water, and all 
life is destroyed on earth. That was a barren, lonely 
earth which Noah knew, as only the ark floated on the 
measureless expanse of the waters. He was having 
an awful experience. 

One whole year Noah and his household dwelt in 
that ark. At first the storms swept over it; the bil- 
lows rose and fell; and dark clouds hid the friendly 
face of the sun. No mountain, or green tree, or house 
met the eye. No bird enlivened the air with song ; all 
was silence on earth, from which every other thing 
had disappeared, except the ark. Most certainly Noah's 
heart was timid and troubled. 



128 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

Moreover, his faith was tried in another way. At 
the end of the first half-year, when the waters had 
stood 150 days, we read that, "God remembered Noah." 
This does not mean that God had forgotten His servant, 
but that there was no revelation ; He had not spoken 
to him, as before. There had been no word of direc- 
tion or comfort in all this time for the man in the 
ark; no ray of the sunlight of His grace, so that it 
seemed as though God had utterly forgotten about 
him. Yet Noah trusted in God, relied upon His prom- 
ise, and waited confidently until He bade him leave the 
ark, even as he had done to enter it. He believed and 
was assured that such a day would come in God's good 
time. Therefore we read that "Noah became heir of 
the righteousness which is according to faith." 

Our life, beloved, is often like the little vessel of 
the disciples on Galilee, or like the ark in the wild 
deluge of waters. As we launch out into the deep, the 
bright hopes of youth fade away, and there are floods 
of trouble on every side, the storm rages, and the sun 
of grace is hid for days from our eyes. No word of 
Divine comfort refreshes us. All about us is a great 
waste. It seems as though God had forgotten us ; the 
Lord Jesus is asleep in our little ship. We are ready 
to cry with the children of Korah (Ps. 42, 7) : "All Thy 
waves and Thy billows are gone over me!" Or with 
David (Ps. 69, ^) : "I sink in deep mire, where there 
is no standing : I am come into deep waters, where the 
floods overflow me!" In such days we may well learn 
from this trustful, joyful man in the ark. This is the 
time to remember our Baptism, where God made His 
covenant with us (Is. 54, 9) : "I have sworn that the 
waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so I 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 129 

have sworn, that I will no more be wroth with thee, nor 
rebuke thee. For the mountains may depart, and the 
hills be removed ; but my loving kindness shall not de- 
part from thee, neither shall My covenant of peace be 
removed, saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee." 
Or our Baptism will teach us to say joyfully with 
David (Ps. 42, 12) : "Why art thou cast down, my 
soul?" Noah was also a model for us in 

His Patient Faith. 

The waters begin to fall, and the ark rests upon 
Ararat. Now the higher mountain-peaks appear. 
Noah opens the windows which formed the upper part 
of the ark all around, and the bright sunlight and fresh 
air stream in. Hope revives in his heart ; he longs now 
to escape from these narrow quarters, where he has 
been shut in for nearly a year. * He sends out a raven 
to see whether the dry land has appeared. It is an un- 
clean bird, and finds food on the mountain sides. Its 
fear of the flood drives it back again, and its appetite 
for carrion sends it out ; it neither returns to stay, nor 
does it stay away. The raven had no clear, sure mes- 
sage, for Noah. After the raven he sends forth a dove. 
This clean bird finds no food or resting place for her- 
self, and returns to the ark. This is a sure sign that 
the valleys are still covered. Another seven days Noah 
waits, and this time the dove brings back a green olive 
leaf in her bill. And a week later she does not return 
at all. The leaf filled Noah with hope, for the olives 
grow in the level fields ; and when the dove did not re- 
turn he knew that the dry land had appeared. 

The deluge has gone, but still this patient man 
waits. At God's command he entered the ark, and 



130 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

only thus will he go out. He does not take one step 
without the Word of the Lord. And at last God speaks 
to Noah, saying: "Go forth from the ark, etc." What 
patience he has shown here! Each time he sends out 
the raven or the dove, he is asking a question of God. 
He would know what He wills at every step of the way. 
Noah teaches us (Is. 30, 15) : "In returning and rest 
shall ye be saved ; in quietness and in confidence shall 
be your strength." 

And well for us, if our faith in His might and 
mercy stands as firm and fast. The best remedy for 
our troubles is this patience, of which Noah is such a 
shining example. As he sends out the raven and the 
dove time and time again, so we should direct our 
prayers to God. They are addressed to His very heart, 
and ask what His will for us really is. And if they 
seem vain, in spite of our diligence, as when the birds 
returned to Noah, we are not to grow weary and cease 
to ask and plead. From day to day, from Sunday to 
Sunday as the seven days imply, we should cry out of 
our depths unto the Lord. And at last the dove will 
fly back with the olive branch which bespeaks God's 
peace and salvation. 

And like Noah we should never try to help our- 
selves out of trouble by ways and means contrary to 
God's will. The world is always doing such things. 
What forbidden, unholy means they use in trouble. He 
who is in want reaches into his neighbor's pocket or 
breaks into his home. That is bad enough, but what 
shall we say of those who would ruin others in business, 
body, or soul, in order to add to their riches ! He who 
is sick tries to cure himself by that sorcery which God 
so solemnly condemns in the Word. He who is troubled 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 131 

drowns his troubles in drink or drugs, and often his 
soul as well. But not so the children of God. They say 
with Joseph: "How can I do this great evil, and sin 
against my God?" Or with Paul: "Lord, what wouldst 
Thou have me to do ?" They wait His answer like Noah, 
and walk in His ways. 

Neither do they make undue haste to escape from 
their troubles. God's good things for body and soul 
often take time, but they are well worth waiting for. 
Had Noah hurried out of the ark, he might have de- 
feated God's gracious plan, and brought ruin upon him- 
self and all the poor creatures in his care. God had a 
good reason for letting him wait, and also in our trou- 
bles of body and mind, heart and soul. They must first 
carry out His loving purpose in our lives before they 
cease. With Noah let us continue to send out the dove, 
and uncover the ark, looking the more freely unto 
Heaven, "as the eyes of servants look unto the hand 
of their master, as the eyes of a maid unto the hand 
of her mistress" (Ps. 123, 2). Only when He says: 
"Enough," "Go forth," can we with joyful heart leave 
our trials and troubles behind us, and rejoice in His 
help. And what shall we do then? Here again Noah 
is a godly example with 

His Thankful Faith. 

The doors of the ark are opened. The men and 
animals stream gladly forth. Birds and beasts delight 
in their freedom, and enliven with joyful sounds the 
air, the fields and the rivers of the new earth. But what 
does Noah do? Is his first thought the building of a 
house, wherein he may enjoy the life so wonderfully 
preserved to him? Does he stand and mourn the 



132 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

damage and desolation the deluge has wrought? No! 
His faithful heart moves him first of all to thank the 
Giver of life and gracious Helper! He builds an altar 
to the Lord, and there he offers burnt offering. It is a 
confession that he is a poor sinner, and what God 
has done for him is all grace. It is an offering of thank- 
ful love, praising the God who has so graciously kept 
His promises. It is a prayer that God would bless and 
hallow his going out of the ark and his coming into the 
new earth. It is a holy vow that hereafter the Lord 
shall be his Refuge and Dwelling-place in every time 
of trouble, and that as for him and his house they will 
serve the Lord. Therefore it is a sweet savour before 
the Lord; and God makes a covenant of peace with 
Noah, that He will never again for man's sake curse 
the ground with another deluge. 

There on Ararat is the first altar mentioned in the 
Bible. As such it is important, but the more so be- 
cause here we learn from godly Noah how to behave 
when God has delivered us out of our troubles. Be it 
far from us also to recall them and forever weep over 
them; far from us to count up how much they have 
cost us in earthly goods, or to worry about new troubles 
in the future. Neither let us plan to make up what 
we have lost in darker days by plunging headlong into 
worldly pleasures. Our first, our holy duty is that 
altar to the Lord, and Noah's sacrifice of a sweet- 
smelling savour. When the Lord has delivered us out 
of trouble, let us not forget to confess before Him our 
sinfulness, because of which the cross was laid upon 
us in loving chastisement. Let ours, too, be an offer- 
ing of thanksgiving, as with thankful hearts we bless 
His Name "Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; 






FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 133 

who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender 
mercies," (Ps. 103, 4). Let it be our prayer, that 
God would graciously bless what we have borne to the 
purifying and saving of our souls; and our vow that 
we will love and serve and trust in Him for all the days 
to come Then ours also will be an acceptable offering. 
The cross will bring forth in us rich and blessed fruits. 
Tribulation will work for us patience and experience, 
hope and faith that make not ashamed. The Lord 
Jesus will still abide in the little ship of our life. And 
often we shall ask in joyful wonder : "What manner of 
man is this, that the wind and the sea obey Him?" In 
every new trouble we shall be able to say with that 
little lad: "My Father is at the helm. I will fear no 
evil !" Amen. 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 
Gospel: Matthew 13, 24-30. 

II. Kings 6, 15-23, especially 16: "And he answered, Fear not; 
for they that are with us are more than they that are with 
them." 

Hymns: 

484. Come, Ye Thankful People, Come. v. 2f. 
430. On What Has Now Been Sown. v. 1. 
432. Almighty God! Thy Word Is Cast. v. 3. 

Our Attitude Toward the Enemies of the 
Gospel. 

The king of Syria was at war with Joram, king 
of Israel. But each attack came to nought, in spite of 
the host which followed his banners, because the 
Prophet Elisha was warned by God, where and when 
the attack would be made. Suspecting this, the Syrian 
monarch sent a mighty army to Dothan to capture this 
troublesome prophet. In the night they surrounded 
the city; and when the servant of Elisha rose in the 
morning, he found to his horror that the place was be- 
sieged on every side by the horses and chariots of the 
enemy. Wherever he looked, there were forests of 
spears, and beneath them the cold glitter of armed 
ranks. He hurried back in terror to Elisha, crying: 
"Alas, my master! how shall we do?" That is the first 
scene which our narrative sets before our eyes. 

And we see something like it in our days. The Gos- 
pel of Christ is surrounded by hostile ranks. Our 
prisons and houses of correction are full of them. 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 135 

Drunkards stagger along our streets. Beggars and 
tramps knock at our doors; and few of them are 
"God's poor." God's holy Day is openly despised in 
many ways. Wait until the May-walks begin, and you 
will see the only use many have for it. God's name is 
tossed about on many lips, as lightly as the dust in the 
streets. And many a doubter and mocker lays his 
dirty hand on the Word of God to argue it away, when 
it rebukes his evil heart and life. The Spiritualists 
are glad to forget that this Book is God's only Revela- 
tion from the world of spirits ; and the Scientists use 
it only as a doctor-book for the body, and teach a faith 
which has no use for God's common sense means for 
healing our bodies. Few hold it to be the only rule for 
our faith and life; and round about us are a host of 
enemies who hate Christ and His Word of Truth. We, 
too, are often ready to sigh : "Alas, my Master ! How 
shall we do?" 

But it is of no use to lie down with Elijah under 
the juniper tree, and sigh: "It is enough, etc." It is 
still worse to wrangle with our God, like Jonah, be- 
cause He is patient and long-suffering with those who 
break His laws and twist His Gospel all out of shape. 
We dare not fold our hands in our lap, and look on 
idly at this ruin of the faith and life of men. We must 
be up and doing ; but we must ask carefully what He 
would have us do, or we may harm the Kingdom of God 
among men more than we, help it. The servants in our 
Gospel have the right zeal, but also the wisdom to ask 
the Master before they begin to root out the tares, and, 
as He warns them, the wheat with them. His plan is : 
"Let both grow together until the harvest." And once 
more in our 0. T. lesson which parallels this Gospel, we 



136 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

learn from the example of Elisha, the right attitude to- 
ward these tares in doctrine and life, which spring up 
in the wheat-field of the Church and in the world beyond 
its walls. 

We Should Not Fear Them Though Many 
and Mighty. 

The army sent to besiege Dothan and capture 
Elisha was a mighty multitude. So far their plan had 
succeeded; they had blocked every exit from the city. 
They were sure now that the prophet could not escape 
them; and rejoiced in his capture as an accomplished 
fact. All this the servant sees at a glance, and there- 
fore his terror. But Elisha who is most concerned in 
this matter, is quite unconcerned in spirit. "Fear not," 
he replies to the anxious cry of his servant, for they 
that are with us are more than they that are with 
them !" He knows that the God of Israel is with them, 
the Lord of Sabbaoth or Hosts, Strong and Mighty. 
He knows that all God's unseen angels are encamped 
about them for their defense. By faith he sees their 
serried ranks as a wall round about, and therefore is 
full of quiet, joyful confidence. He goes out with his 
servant to view the visible enemy, and prays: "Jeho- 
vah, open his eyes, that he may see." And when his 
eyes are opened, he beholds "the mountain full of 
horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha !" These 
were the hosts sent to deliver Elisha from his ene- 
mies. 

If we look only at the might and multitude of the 
enemies of the Gospel, we will often be timid and 
afraid. They besiege the City of God on every side. 
They attack the Word of God, and question its inspired 






FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 137 

truth. They dishonor the person of Christ, making a 
mere man out of the Son of God, as for instance the 
Unitarians. Others attack the Christian church ; they 
say there are hypocrites in the Church, and that they 
can do just as much good at home, and have many like 
objections to the Church. Or they give nothing to sup- 
port it and spread its membership, which is just as 
real an enmity. Some attack Christian marriage by 
their own evil examples ; or Christian law and order, 
as the anarchists and all who twist or break the laws. 
So every gate is besieged for God's people today. 
What can we do against such enemies, so many and so 
mighty? "With might of ours can naught be done." 
These are the visible portion of the hosts of the Devil, 
who is the Prince of this world ; against such a super- 
natural Spirit of wickedness we are utterly helpless. 
And yet we are to be unafraid, because those who 
are with us are more than those who are against us. 
We have mighty allies on our side. One of these is 
conscience. It can be choked into silence for a time, 
but not silenced for ever in any heart. It is always 
fighting for us in the ranks of our foes. It unnerves 
their hands, and strips those who attack the truth of 
all courage and hope. 

And here is Christian custom. That goodly armor 
among our people has blunted many a weapon against 
the Lord and His church. Is has become a habit for 
many of us to hear the Word of God and worship Him 
each Lord's Day, and even the Devil has a hard time 
to overcome this and other excellent Christian habits. 

Here, too, is the civil law in Christian lands. That 
steps in to defend the Gospel from many an attack. 
Men cannot do anything they please on our Lord's 



138 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

Day, and set a bad example to the young. And there 
are severe penalties for those who disturb Divine ser- 
vices. Meanwhile the Christian is protected in his 
teaching and living according to the Word of God, and 
not persecuted for this as were the Apostles and the 
early Church. 

But all such friends cannot help us much. Our 
hopes must look higher; our eyes must be lifted up 
"unto the hills from whence cometh our help." On our 
side stand a cloud of holy witnesses, who once strove 
and suffered here on earth, and now wear the crown on 
high. They lift up their hands before the Throne of 
God, and pray Him to bless the cause of His Church 
with victory. And here are the holy angels, who carry 
out God's commands : 

"The angel of the Lord encampeth round about 
them that fear Him, and delivereth them." 

And we have kept for the last the best of all ; the 
Lord is with us, the Mighty God and faithful Saviour. 
He has promised that "the gates of Hell shall not pre- 
vail against His Church ;" "Lo, I am with you always, 
even to the end of the world;" "Fear not, little flock, 
for it is the Father's good pleasure to give unto you 
the Kingdom." His word is true, and His promise 
shall never fail. 

All these are with us; and they are more and 
mightier than any who can be against us. We have 
holy allies who cannot be outmatched and overcome. 
They stand by our side, even when we do not see them, 
just as they surrounded the mountain of Dothan. It is 
only the fault of our unbelief and little faith, if we do 
not feel them about us. If we pray the Lord to open 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 139 

our eyes, we too shall realize that there are horses and 
chariots of fire round about us ; and then we will cry 
with David (Ps. 27, 3) : 

"Though a host should encamp against me, 
My heart shall not fear 
Though war should rise against me, 
Even then will I be confident." 

Or will say with John : "He that is in us is greater 
than he that is in the world ;" "This is the victory that 
overcometh the world, even our faith." Or we will 
exult with Paul (Rom. 8, 31) : "If God is for us, who is 
against us? He that spared not His own Son, but de- 
livered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with 
Him freely give us all things?" It was from such 
verses that Luther learned to sing: 

Though devils all the world should fill, 

All watching to devour us, 
We tremble not, we fear no ill, 

They cannot overpower us." 

Again, 

Our Attitude Must Be Prayer to God. 

It is not enough, simply not to fear. We have a 
duty to discharge against the foes of the Gospel. We 
must defeat them by our prayers. Here again Elisha 
is an excellent example for us. It was not enough, that 
he himself felt safe in the Lord's keeping. He wishes 
to defeat, and render harmless, these enemies of his 
fatherland. He goes out to meet these Syrians, and as 
he draws near, lifts up his hands to the Lord. He has 
no other weapon against them. He prays : "Smite this 
people with blindness," and his prayer is heard. Elisha, 
whom they seek, stands before them, and they know 
him not, because their eyes are holden. He says: 



140 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

"This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow 
me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek." 
Blind and helpless they are led into the midst of the 
city of Samaria. There he prays that their eyes may 
be opened, and as he promised, they find the man they 
are seeking, but they also find themselves captives, 
surrounded by the army of Israel. What a wonderful 
power there was in the prayers of Elisha; opening 
first the eyes of the young man, blinding those of the 
enemies, and then so opening them that they could see 
resistance was useless. 

This is the plan we are to follow. We are to de- 
feat the evil purposes of the enemies of the Gospel. 
For they are most dangerous: enemies of our peace, 
of good order, of our property and our country, of the 
Lord Jesus and of His Church. They must be over- 
come, and made harmless and helpless. For this here 
are many weapons. Our own good confession of the 
Lord Jesus in word and work will do much. Our warn- 
ings and rebukes may stir up their conscience; our 
entreaties move their hearts. In many a case we will 
win the victory thus by the grace of God. But often 
our confession of Christ is only laughed at ; warnings 
and entreaties fall on deaf ears and hardened hearts. 
Then we must mourn with Jeremiah: They set their 
faces like flint; they refused to return." 

But we have one more weapon, and it has the 
promise of victory: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He 
will give it to you." And here, when we are dealing 
with enemies of Christ's Kingdom, and not our per- 
sonal ones, we are truly praying in His name, and as 
He would pray Himself. This weapon we must not fail 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 141 

to use, as Elisha did to strengthen his servant's faith; 
and we, too, must thus open the eyes of the Lord's dis- 
ciples against such enemies and their evil example; 
and that the enemies may be blinded, and kept from 
doing the harm they intended. For their own sakes, 
as well as the Church's their wisdom should be put to 
shame, the self-righteousness they build on crumble 
into the dust, their earthly goods and pleasures made 
bitter to them, and the false lights they have been fol- 
lowing taken from them. And in such prayers we 
should persevere daily, until we can say to them with 
Elisha: "This is not the way; follow me, and I will 
bring you to the man ye seek." Then it will be time to 
pray that God would open their eyes to see Him, whom 
they have been persecuting, Him who is made of God 
for us wisdom and righteousness, and that they may 
find in Him their God and Saviour. Such prayer is not 
in vain ; the faith of many a father and mother prays 
away the destruction into which a son or daughter is 
running. There is no lack of blessed answers to such 
believing prayer, which deals not so much with earthly 
things, riches and health, as with the coming of God's 
Kingdom. Presented in our Master's name and spirit, 
they have the promise of being heard, and will work 
such miracles as Elisha wrought. We never cease to 
wonder over them, and to praise God for them. And if 
the enemies of the Gospel still resist, there is one last 
thing we may do, and that is to 

Overcome the Evil by Love. 

Elisha leads his foes into the city of Samaria, 
where they find themselves in the power of the Israel- 
ites. There is terror in their hearts ; each house seems 
a prison or a grave, each Israelite an executioner. 



142 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

They look to Elisha with fear and trembling. The 
king, seeing his foes in his power, wishes to slay them. 
He asks eagerly: "My father, shall I smite them? Shall 
I smite them ?" But the prophet reminds him they are 
not his captives, taken by his own weapons ; but God's, 
overcome by His power. Therefore he bids Joram set 
food before them, that they may eat and drink, and go 
to their master. And reluctantly Joram obeys. A great 
meal is prepared, and when the Syrians have been fed, 
they are sent away with not a hair of their heads 
harmed. Neither was such love in vain, for we read : 
"And the bands of Syria came no more into the land 
of Israel." 

Here is a glorious example of how we should deal 
with the enemies of the Gospel. I know that many an 
honest heart often feels with John and James (Luke 
9, 54), like calling down fire from Heaven upon them. 
But it forgets what manner of spirit it is of, and our 
Master's rebuke in Gethsemane: "He that taketh the 
sword, shall perish with the sword." Vengeance be- 
longeth unto God, and the rulers He has ordained bear 
the sword not in vain. But as individual Christians 
our one great weapon is love. Any kindness we show 
the enemies of the Gospel is "coals of fire" upon their 
heads, burning its way down into the heart, until they 
too must forsake their enmity against the Word and 
Church, and return to their true Lord and Master. For 
His sake we are to love them, that His Name may be 
glorified ; for their own, that their souls may be saved ; 
and for our own, who must show forth His praises 
worthily, if we are to share His love. 

If we abide in such love, we will surely win the day 
and hold the field in the end. The enemies will no more 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 143 

mock at our confession of Christ, or turn a deaf ear to 
our warnings and entreaties. Love will put them to 
shame and turn their hearts, and from enemies of the 
Gospel they may become its best friends and support- 
ers. Then what a glorious victory will be ours. And 
even if our prayers and love fail, we have at least kept 
our Lord's command, and done what we could. The re- 
sult we may leave to His might and mercy with all con- 
fidence. The Lord strengthen us for this holy war- 
fare against the power of the Evil One. May He Him- 
self write on our hearts that noble saying of the Epistle 
for the day (Col. 3, 12 and 14) : "Put on therefore, as 
God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, 
kindness, lowliness, meekness, long suffering * * * and, 
above all things, put on love, which is the bond of per- 
fectness. Amen. 



THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD. 

Last Sunday After Epiphany. 
Gospel : Matthew 17, 1-9. 

Exodus 33, 17-23, and especially v. 18: "And he said, Show 
me, I pray Thee, Thy glory." 

Hymns: 

333. Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me. 

83. Son of Man, to Thee I Cry. v. 3, and Refrain. 

43. One With God the Father, v. 1 

49. Tis Good, Lord, to Be Here! 

129. Beautiful Saviour, Lord of Creation. 

294. Worship the King, All-Glorious Above. 

295. Blessing and Honor, and Glory and Power. 

The Great Transfiguration Hour in Moses' 
Life and Ours. 

With this service the Epiphany draws to a close. 
It manifests to us the Lord Jesus Christ in all His low- 
liness and all His glory. At its beginning it roused us 
with the cry (Is. 60, 1) : "Arise, shine; for thy light 
is come, and the glory of Jehovah (the Lord) is risen 
upon thee." Then it showed us the glory of the Lord in 
His first recorded word as a twelve-year-old lad in the 
Temple. A ray of Heavenly light shines in that say- 
ing: "I must be about My Father's business," and re- 
veals the holy mystery of His coming to earth. Again, 
His glory is manifested forth at Cana, in His first 
miracle. And the other Epiphany Sundays, which are 
often crowded out by an early Easter, tell us how He 
heals the sick, stills the storms of our life, and rules 
over His Church with unspeakable wisdom and 
patience. 



LAST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 145 

The last of them, which is our theme to-day, tells 
of His Transfiguration. There on the Mount (tradi- 
tion says Tabor, but Hermon is more probable) His 
glory burst through the servant's form, in which He 
was veiled at other times. His face shone as the sun, 
and His raiment was white as the light. The Apostle 
Peter (II. 1, 17) was an eye-witness of His majesty, 
and says : "For He received from God the Father honor 
and glory, when there was borne such a voice (testi- 
mony) to Him by the Majestic Glory, This is My be- 
loved Son, in whom I am well pleased." There ap- 
peared also to the astonished disciples two Old Testa- 
ment figures, shining with the same glory which trans- 
figured our Lord. They were Moses and Elijah, the 
representatives of the Law and the Prophets ; one the 
founder, and the other the restorer of God's Old Testa- 
ment Kingdom on earth. These men in their lifetime 
had looked deeper than others into the glory of God. 
In the Advent season we have dwelt on how God ap- 
peared to Elijah on Mt. Horeb (or Sinai) in the still, 
small voice, and revealed to him the near and distant 
future of the Kingdom. Today we will meditate on a 
like hour in the life of Moses. May the Lord open our 
eyes and heart, that by faith we too may see His glory, 
as Moses did on Sinai in this 

Climax of God's Old Testament Revelation 
to Man. 

Just before our text Moses stood before the Taber- 
nacle, and besought the Lord to show him His ways, 
that he might know Him and find favor in His sight; 
and to "Consider that this nation is Thy people." And 
because God knew him by name and he had found 
favor in His sight, He promised: "My presence shall 



146 LAST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

go with thee, and I will give thee rest." Then Moses 
was encouraged to ask further: "Show me, I pray 
Thee, Thy glory!" Now this servant of God had al- 
ready seen many a revelation of God's glory: in the 
burning bush on Horeb, the plagues in Egypt, the 
passage of the Red Sea where the waves divided before 
Israel but closed in upon pursuing Pharaoh, in the 
manna from Heaven and the water out of the rock, and 
in the holy words he had already heard in the Mount at 
the first giving of the Law. But hitherto the Lord had 
appeared only in the pillar of the cloud and of fire. 
Moses heard His voice as "He spake with him, as a man 
speaketh unto his friend," but he longed to see the 
Almighty and Eternal God face to face. It was not 
curiosity, but love which moved him to make this re- 
quest, even as we long to see the foreign friend who 
writes us kind letters from a distant land. The desire 
grew out of his office and his faithfulness in it. If he 
was to be a true mediator between God and His people, 
he must come very near to God even as he did to Israel. 
So God's first gracious promise emboldened him to 
make this second great request. 

And the Lord was not angry at His servant for 
this. He said : "I will make all My goodness pass be- 
fore thee, and will proclaim the name of Jehovah be- 
fore thee. * * * Thou canst not see My face; for 
man shall not see Me and live." Where is the human 
eye, which can gaze upon the sun in its flaming glory 
without being darkened and blinded ! Just so little can 
sinful man behold the face of our Holy God, and a 
dying creature of the dust look upon the ever-living 
God. Yet Moses was to see the hem of His garment 
of light. God promised to put him in a cleft of the 



LAST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 147 

rock and to cover him with His hand until He had 
passed by. Thus Moses would have a glimpse of His 
glory in His vanishing trail. The next morning he 
was to come up into the Mount, and then he should 
see all that the eye of mortal man can endure of the 
glory of God. 

What thoughts must have raced through his brain 
in that sleepless night ! How his soul must have trem- 
bled and rejoiced by turns in the revelation promised 
him on the morrow. No wonder he rose early and be- 
gan to climb up the mountain in haste. He was alone ; 
no friend dared accompany him. Far aloft, near the 
highest peak of Sinai, there was a cleft or cave. Here 
very probably Elijah stood centuries after, and heard 
the voice of Jehovah. Here Moses stands now and 
waits in believing prayer and trembling fear. A cloud 
comes down from the summit over the face of the 
mountain. The Lord is passing by for His servant. 
A Heavenly glory shines about this man born of the 
dust. But a merciful hand is laid upon his eyes that 
the sight of the glory of the Lord may not destroy him. 
He hears the voice of the Lord his God, sweeter than 
the songs of the redeemed, and lovelier than angels' 
voices: "Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gra- 
cious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness 
and truth ; keeping loving kindness for thousands, for- 
giving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that 
will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity 
of the fathers upon the children, and upon the chil- 
dren's children, etc." As the voice dies away in thun- 
dering echoes, the hand is lifted from Moses' eyes, and 
he sees the afterglow of the glory of the Lord passing 
by. 



148 LAST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

It is not strange that Moses, casting himself down 
in the dust, bows his head to the earth and worships. 
He had seen and heard what no human eye had seen, 
no ear of man heard, what was hidden before even 
from him, the great prophet and friend of God. There 
at a burning bush God had revealed to Moses His eter- 
nal and unchangeable nature. At the court of Pharaoh 
and in the waves of the Red Sea he had beheld the All- 
might of God. On Sinai, when he first received the 
Law, he had learned to know the holiness of God ; and 
a few days later His righteousness, when 3,000 of the 
idolatrous Israelites who were dancing about the 
golden calf, were slain by the swords of the Levites. 

But here, in this blessed hour, God reveals Him- 
self in a very different way. This is not so much that 
he sees God's back, or trail of glory, but that he sees 
Him who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and 
abundant in loving kindness and truth." It was a 
foretaste of the Gospel which he had as he looked into 
the glory of God's sin-forgiving grace. This was the 
climax, the crowning hour, of his whole life ! This was 
the reason why his "face shone" (34, 35), so that he 
must needs cover it with a veil when he spake to the 
people. Nowhere in the Old Testament do we read of 
anything like this; it is the climax of God's Old Tes- 
tament revelation of Himself as One who "keeps lov- 
ing kindness for thousands, etc." Nov/ the two tables 
of the Law, which Moses had dropped and broken be- 
fore, are renewed, and with them God's gracious Cove- 
nant with His people. Once more the mercy seat stands 
in the Tabernacle for that Israel who has forsaken the 
golden calf; once more the smoke of the sacrifice 
ascends to the Throne of Grace. Now Israel may com- 



LAST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 149 

fort themselves after the fashion of the 130th Psalm: 
"0 Israel, hope in Jehovah ; for with Jehovah there is 
loving kindness." Now they may sing, as David did to 
his harp (Ps. 103, 8) : 

"Jehovah is merciful and gracious, 

Slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness. 

He will not always chide; 

Neither will He keep His anger forever. 

He hath not dealt with us after our sins, 

Nor rewarded us after our iniquities, etc." 

This glory of the Lord Moses saw in the Mount is 
also 

A Mirror of the New Covenant. 

It was the morning-dawn of a greater glory which 
now shines for poor sinners in this dark world, the 
day-break of "The Gospel of the Glory of Christ," (II. 
Cor. 4, 4), the beginning of God's New Testament rev- 
elation of Himself. Moses prayed : "Show me, I pray 
Thee, Thy glory," and his petition was granted as far 
as was possible then. But John rejoices later: "We 
beheld His glory, glory as of the Only-Begotten from 
the Father, full of grace and truth" (1, 14). 

"God is Love!" That is the inscription written 
now in letters of gold on earth and sky. "God is Love !" 
That is above all else the message of our preaching. 
For this is the glory of Him, who is the "Effulgence of 
His glory, and the Very Image of His Substance" (Heb. 
1, 3) ." In Him the grace and glory of God are revealed ; 
they shine full and clear only in the face of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, in His holy walk, as he eats with publi- 
cans and sinners, seeking the lost; in His holy Word, 
as He teaches, rebukes, and prays for His erring breth- 
ren; in His holy works as He goes about doing good, 
from His first miracle wrought in kindness to the 



150 LAST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

needy couple at Cana, to the last, as in the night of 
sorrow in Gethsemane, He heals the ear of His 
wounded enemy. It shines also in His death, and the 
glory of God is more bright and beautiful on Golgotha 
than when Moses saw it on Sinai. The Lord God Him- 
self wrote over the Cross in letters of light: "God so 
loved the world that He gave His Only-Begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but 
have eternal life" (John 3, 16). And beneath that 
Cross all believers rejoice with John (1, 3, 16) : "Here- 
by know we Love, because He laid down His life for 
us." God's love shines also in all His New Testament 
gifts of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, 
which supply our every want and bless us in life and 
death. It shines also in the ways of His Providence. 
Often these are dark, and we do not understand them ; 
our feet grow weary and our hearts rebel. Yet often 
out of this very cloud of our darker days we hear the 
voice saying: "God hath made Him to be sin for us 
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteous- 
ness of God in Him." 

And this New Testament revelation of God's grace 
and glory is not reserved for Moses alone, who was 
"faithful in all God's House" (Numb. 12, 7). It is 
offered now to each poor sinner. It is true that God 
adds here for the unrepentant who trifle with His 
grace, that "He will by no means clear the guilty" (Ex. 
34, 7). Yet even this is grace, grace which admon- 
ishes and warns them betimes. All who feel and con- 
fess the misery of sin, may rejoice in the mercy and 
grace, loving kindness and truth of their God. There- 
fore we say rightly, that this revelation to Moses is a 
mirror of the glory God reveals more fully in the 



LAST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 151 

New Testament ; and we too fall down with him in the 
dust, bow our heads, and worship. But we have a still 
greater reason to do this: What Moses saw was 

A Prophecy of the Glory of Heaven. 

What did Moses see, after all? Little enough, 
compared with what he longed for! The glory of the 
Lord was veiled, and His hand upon his eyes, as He 
passed. He heard the message, "Merciful and gra- 
cious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness 
and truth," but only saw the back, or vanishing trail 
of God's glory. Then he went down from the moun- 
tain, and dwelt once more in the barren, comfortless 
desert. Forty years he wandered there, and was the 
meekest of all men on earth, though tried, as few are, 
by that stiff-necked people. He lived to experience 
what he wrote in the 90th Psalm : 

"The days of our years are three score years and ten, 
Or even by reason of strength four score years; 
Yet is their pride but labor and sorrow; 
For it is soon gone, and we fly away." 

He had only the memory of that glorious hour to 
sustain him; only the word he then heard to comfort 
him. With these he must needs be satisfied, until he 
enters into the rest that remains for the people of God, 
and sees the glory of the Lord in eternity. 

Our life is like his! Here and there on our way 
through its deserts there is a Sinai with its revelation 
of God's glory, hours of spiritual uplift, times of re- 
freshing from the Lord. But it is only the hem of His 
garment of light we behold ; we see only as through a 
glass darkly. And after such brief hours have been 
vouchsafed us, we go on like Moses through the desert. 



152 LAST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

Our sinfulness and weakness makes the way hard; 
temptation and trial, cross and loss weary our souls. 
We, too, have only the Word of the Lord to comfort us, 
and with this we must be satisfied. 

So from year to year that longing grows in our 
soul which the Psalmist voices (42, 2) : 

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God, 
When shall I come and appear before God?" 

And the Lord answers us as He did His servant 
Moses : "Thou canst not see My face ; for man cannot 
see Me and live." Good old Augustine as he comments 
on this text, writes : "So be it Lord, then I will die that 
I may see Thy face !" It is a bold saying, yet one with- 
out a flaw in the light of eternity, one which shall be 
fulfilled. The years will come and go, until our last 
hour strikes; and well for us if our last wish and 
prayer be this of Moses : "Show me, I pray Thee, Thy 
glory." For then the cloud shall be lifted in the hour 
of our dying, the hand taken away from our eyes. No 
more shall His glory be hidden from us. Then we shall 
see more than the hem of His garment, and the vanish- 
ing sweep of His glory. No more shall we see as 
through a glass darkly, but face to face ; and we shall 
know him even as now we are known by Him. Like 
Stephen in his martyr death, we shall see "the glory of 
the Lord, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God," 
"Him whom not having seen we loved." And round 
about the Throne shall resound from saints in glory 
seated the eternal hallelujah, as once on Sinai from the 
cloud: "Jehovah, our God, is merciful and gracious, 
slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and 
truth." Then the blessed Epiphany Season of Eternity 
shall have begun ! 



LAST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 153 

But until then we must be satisfied with this Word 
spoken to us. Until then our Lord would comfort us, 
as He did Martha before He raised her brother : "Said 
I not unto thee that if thou wouldst believe, thou 
shouldst see the glory of God ?" Therefore, "Blessed are 
those who have not seen, and yet have believed." The 
beautiful hymn, "Rock of Ages Cleft for Me," was 
based on this passage. He who like Moses is hidden 
in the cleft of the Rock, the crucified Christ ; who lives 
in Christ and His Church, shall one day see the glory 
of God, the Eternal Springtime of His presence and 
joy. Amen. 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
Gospel : Matthew 20, 1-16. 

I. Sam. 16, 4-13, especially v. 7: "But Jehovah said unto 
Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his 
stature; because I have rejected him: for Jehovah seeth not as 
man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but 
Jehovah looketh on the heart." 

Hymns: 

304. All That I Was, My Sin, My Guilt, v. 1. 
273. Here Behold Me, as I Cast Me. v. 3. 
257. As Pants the Hart for Cooling Streams, v. 1. 
291. Lord, With Glowing Heart I'd Praise Thee. v. 3. 
264. for a Heart to Praise My God. 

God's Thoughts Are Not Like Man's. 

"So the last shall be first, and the first last." This 
saying of our Lord sums up today's Gospel; and this 
parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard is an illustra- 
tion of it, and is framed in by these words at the be- 
ginning and the end. It shows us God's idea contrast- 
ed with man's. We would think that the first, who had 
borne the burden and heat of the day, deserved more 
than those who labored but an hour. But God says: 
"Friend, I do thee no wrong : didst not thou agree with 
me for a shilling? * * * Is thine eye evil, because 
I am good ? It is my will to give unto this last even as 
unto thee." So God deals with men to this very day, 
and so He will to the last hour. Those who are first in 
their own eyes, and often acclaimed as first by men, 
are usually last before God ; and those who are last and 
least in the estimation of themselves and of others, are 
frequently the first and greatest with Him. God's ideas 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 155 

differ from man's; His thoughts are not ours. Man 
looks about for that which is great and renowned ; God 
regards the humble and unknown. Man is impressed 
with that which makes a great noise and show; God 
with the "Quiet in the land." Man judges by the out- 
ward appearance ; God by the hidden man of the heart. 
So we are taught in this Old Testament text. 

The Lord Looketh Not on the Outward 
Appearance. 

The heart of man is by nature full of pride. We 
are easily puffed up by this or that ; and this pride we 
do not lay aside in worship, prayer or the labors of 
God's Kingdom, as our Gospel reminds us. It often 
leads us astray when we work and walk with our fel- 
low-men. Many things minister to this pride. We 
boast that we belong to this or that people ; there is a 
national pride which shows itself in the language ques- 
tion, disturbing our churches. Again the dweller in 
the town often thinks himself superior to the man from 
the countryside; the citizen of some great metropolis 
looks down upon the man of the smaller town. 

Our narrative humbles such pride exceedingly, for 
the High Priest Samuel is sent by the Lord to Bethle- 
hem, to anoint a king over Israel and Judah in the 
stead of disobedient Saul. Not to rich and mighty 
Jerusalem, with its proud and exalted position in the 
land, is he sent; not to the priestly city of Hebron, 
whose hills were covered with olives and its mountain- 
sides with the finest grapes ; not to Jericho, celebrated 
for its palm-groves and gardens. No! Samuel must 
turn to poor, little, insignificant Bethlehem. It is true 
there were sunny hills and goodly pastures there; but 



156 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 

it was so small, that in the 15th of Joshua with its list 
of the cities of Judah, Bethlehem is not even mentioned ! 
And 600 years later, though the place had surely grown, 
the prophet Micah says of it: "But thou, Bethlehem 
Ephrathah * * * art little to be among the thou- 
sands of Judah." Those who lived in cities which had 
their thousands looked with pitying patronage upon 
the man of Bethlehem. Even the elders of this town 
do not understand why the great Judge and High 
Priest of their people, Samuel, should visit them. They 
tremble and ask: "Comest thou peaceably?" They fear 
they have done some wrong, and Samuel has come to 
punish them. Yet this little town the Lord had chosen ! 
Here a king was to be found for His people ; yea, cen- 
turies later a Virgin was to bring forth here a Son, who 
should "save His people from their sins." "The Lord 
looketh not on the outward appearance." This Bethle- 
hem, despised of man, was honored in His sight. 

Again we boast of the family to which we belong. 
We are proud of its long line of illustrious ancestors: 
generals, statesmen, and scholars. Bethlehem also had 
some honored and even noble families. The royal 
house of Saul was represented there by the family of 
god-fearing Jonathan. Captains and officers of the 
king were there. But Samuel passed by all these 
houses; he did not visit the oldest and best families. 
One family there was especially little and unimportant, 
that of Jesse. It had no long and glorious history, and 
few rich and famous forefathers. One of its ancestors, 
Elimelech, was a poor man, who in the time of famine 
was obliged to flee away with his two sons, and died 
in a distant land. Boas, it is true, owned a little land, 
but that was not worth much, because it was located in 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 157 

this rural settlement. And his wife, Ruth, had come 
from Moab, a poor girl, and gleaned as a beggar in his 
fields, that she and her mother-in-law might have bread 
to eat. Those were no names to stir the world, or even 
this small town. But God looketh not on the outward 
appearance. The family of Jesse did not find favor in 
the eyes of man, but it did in the sight of the Lord, and 
there He chose a king for His people. 

And yet again, our hearts are lifted up in pride 
because of our superior gifts. One talks in a confident 
way of good looks, another of his knowledge. One is 
proud of his wealth, another of his position. Even the 
High Priest Samuel is dazzled by these gifts. When 
Jesse sets his first-born, Eliab, before him, Samuel 
thinks : "Surely Jehovah's anointed is before Him !" It 
was the giant stature of the youth which deceived him ; 
Eliab's strength and noble bearing. But just then the 
words of our text are recorded : "Look not on his coun- 
tenance, or on the height of his stature; because I 
have rejected him : for Jehovah seeth not as man seeth, 
etc." Now Jesse brings a second and a third son ; but 
all are allowed to come and go. Each of the seven has 
his excellencies and special virtues, but on each the 
same verdict is pronounced: "Neither hath Jehovah 
chosen this!" And now Samuel must ask whether 
Jesse has no more sons, and is told that there is one 
more, the youngest, who is out keeping the sheep. The 
father seems never to have thought of him, and it did 
not occur to any of them to call him in, and present him 
to the High Priest. Yet when this young man, despised 
of his father and brethren; is brought at Samuel's com- 
mand, the voice of the Lord says : "Arise, anoint him ; 
for this is he !" One lightly esteemed by men is highly 



158 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 

esteemed by God, and made king of His people. God 
looketh not, as man, on the outward appearance. 

This history teaches us, that the superior gifts and 
graces we often make so much of, leave us worthless 
in the sight of God. The Almighty God cares nothing 
whether we have come from this land or that; out of 
a great city or the meanest village ; from a celebrated 
family or a lowly one ; whether we are first or last in 
our own home ; honored of men or despised of them ; 
homely or handsome ; learned or with little education. 

When we gaze out from some high mountain over 
the valley beneath, all there seems small and petty. 
And the Lord looks from His throne, high over all the 
mountain-tops of earth and Heaven. Our cities and 
palaces, all our treasures and ornaments of earth, all 
that seems so great and shines so bright to us, is as 
nothing to Him who sits on high. All the show in 
which our hearts delight, the bright colors which please 
us, disappear from His viewpoint. All our glory and 
renown vanishes before Him, as the mist when the sun 
looks upon it with his heat. Before Him we are poor 
worms of the dust. Therefore we should not deceive 
ourselves, or let others deceive us. Let none build, like 
these laborers in our Gospel, upon his virtues and 
good works. These are nothing, nothing at all, in the 
sight of the All-Knowing and Holy God. And as our 
Saviour's lips declared : "He that exalteth himself shall 
be humbled ; but he that humbleth himself shall be ex- 
alted," (Luke 18, 14). 

If you are annoyed, because you are so little thought 
of among men, and seem to amount to so little, then take 
comfort in this story. The Lord looketh not as men 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 159 

do. He called David from the sheep to the throne of 
Israel. He looked lovingly upon the publican in the 
Temple. He lifted up the woman who was a sinner 
out of the dust where she had cast herself. And He 
made Peter, the rough, profane sailor, a fisher of men. 
So He may deal with us, even though we do not find 
favor in the eyes of men, for, 

The Lord Looketh on the Heart. 

That is the second thing we learn from this nar- 
rative. Samuel had already declared to Saul: "But 
now thy kingdom shall not continue: Jehovah hath 
sought Him a man after His own heart, and Jehovah 
hath appointed him to be prince over His people." 
Such a man after His own heart He had not found in 
Jerusalem, Hebron, or Jericho; but in Bethlehem. 
Such a man after His own heart He had not found 
among the rulers and elders of the town, but in the 
house of Jesse. Such a man He had not found in 
Eliab and his older brethren, but in David the young- 
est son of the house. The youth who fed his father's 
sheep in the fields of Bethlehem had wholly given his 
heart to the Lord. When by day and night his attentive 
eye rested on the wonderful works of God in Heaven 
and earth, he saw in them the hand and heart of his 
God, whose very Being is Love. He sang to his harp 
of His holy and reverend Name, and of the wonders of 
His almighty hand. He sang also of the mountains 
and valleys, but above all these the burden of his song 
was the love and goodness of God. He trusted in the 
Lord, committed to Him his ways, and clung to Him as 
"the strength of his life, and his portion for ever." 
Therefore he became humble, and waited quietly until 
the hand of the Lord should exalt him in His service, 



160 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 

and call him away from this child's play of watching 
the sheep. On rare occasions when wild beasts at- 
tacked them, he showed how manly a part he could play 
in defense of his helpless and timid charges. But it 
was his humility, piety and spiritual mind the Lord 
looked upon ; and this in His sight made the youth fit 
to wear the crown among His people. 

Now some one may say: "But David was not 
always such a man, as you are picturing." No! Clad 
in the purple and seated on the throne, he committed 
several great and shameful sins. He caused Uriah to 
be foully murdered, and committed adultery with 
Bathsheba; and for this, God punished him severely. 
Moreover in disobedient pride, David numbered his 
people, to see how well he could help himself without 
the Lord's help; and for this the judgments of God 
fell on him and his land. All this is true, and all this 
weakness the Lord knew. He who says : "The imagi- 
nation of man's heart is only evil continually," also 
says: "The Lord looketh upon the heart." It was not 
a heart unspotted by any sin, that God was seeking; 
for where would He find such among the poor children 
of men? The Lord seeks only a repenting, humble, 
believing, and thankful heart; and where He finds 
that, He takes pleasure in it. Such a heart He did find 
in David. 

David had a repentant heart. When the prophet 
Nathan rebuked him for his sin, He confessed with no 
delay or evasions: "I have sinned against the Lord;" 
and in the 51st Psalm he sighs : 

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy loving kindness, 
According to the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my 
transgressions." 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 161 

And he prays there : 

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; 
And renew a right spirit within me." 

Years later, when Absalom, his son, raises a rebel- 
lion against him, he sees in it God's righteous chastise- 
ment because of his sin. He goes over the brook 
Kidron to the Mount of Olives, barefooted, weeping, 
and hiding his face. And when Shimei curses him on 
the way — though he is the Lord's anointed — and casts 
stones at him, David does not desire him to be punished, 
but looks upon his shame as a just rebuke from the Lord, 
and says: "Let him alone, because Jehovah hath said 
unto him, Curse David (II. Sam. 16, 10)." And when 
the pestilence comes upon the land because of his pride 
in numbering the people, and 70,000 of his men of war 
are slain by it, David humbles himself in true repent- 
ance : "I have sinned and done evil, but what have these 
poor sheep done? Let the hand of the Lord be upon 
me and my father's house !" No one can read the Peni- 
tential Psalms thoughtfully (6, 32, 38, 51, 143) and 
doubt the sincere repentance of David's heart. 

His was also a truly humble heart. Therefore he 
folds his hands, when he is made king, and says : "Who 
am I, O Lord Jehovah, and what is my house, that 
Thou hast brought me thus far?" (II. Sam. 7, 18). 
Therefore he exclaims, as he worships (Ps. 8) : 

"What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? 
And the son of man, that Thou visitest him ? 

Therefore he confesses that "God's gentleness has 
made him great ;" and again : "Who knoweth how often 
he sins ? Cleanse Thou me from secret faults." 



162 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 

But he has also a believing heart. He loves the 
"Habitation of God's House and the place where His 
honor dwelleth." He "Compasses the altar of God, that 
he may make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard, 
and tell of all His wonderful works (Ps. 26, 6)." He 
sings on his harp (Ps. 36, 5) : 

"Thy loving kindness, Jehovah, is (high as) in the heavens; 
Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the skies." 

No prophet looked deeper into the lowliness and 
the glory of the Messiah than the royal prophet David. 
From the day when he was anointed, the Spirit of God 
came upon him ; and it is David who foretells the utter 
humiliation of the Cross in which our Saviour must 
cry : "My God, My God ! Why hast Thou forsaken me?" 
(Ps. 22, 1). He knows how the Messiah will become 
"A reproach of men, and despised of the people" (v. 6) . 
He foresees how the heathen will rage against Jehovah 
and His Anointed, and say (Ps. 2) : "Let us break 
their bonds asunder, and cast away their cords from 
us." And it is David again, who sees the King of 
Glory ascending up on high (Ps. 24), and leading cap- 
tivity captive ; and hears Jehovah say to His Son and 
Lord (Ps. 110) : 

"Sit Thou at My right hand, 

Until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool!" 

David has, finally, a thankful heart as well. There- 
fore he lays aside his royal robes, and in the simple 
white garb of a priest dances before the ark as it is 
brought into Jerusalem, though his wife, the proud 
daughter of King Saul, sneers at him for doing such 
an undignified thing. This grateful David communes 
with God in the night watches, and his thankful heart 
meditates on God as he lies upon his bed. There is one 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 163 

Psalm, the 103rd, which in itself convinces us of his 
thankful spirit: 

"Bless Jehovah, my soul; 

And all that is within me, bless His Holy Name 

Bless Jehovah, O my soul, 

And forget not all His benefits: 

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, etc." 

That was why the Lord chose David to be king, 
for "the Lord looketh upon the heart." That was why 
David was called "a man after His own heart," "who 
walked before God in integrity of heart (with his 
whole heart), and in uprightness" (I. Kings 9, 4), and 
"who walked in God's ways, and did that which is right 
in His eyes" (11, 38). And for his sake God's bless- 
ing of the "sure mercies of David" descended for cen- 
turies upon his line, and the very Son of God was not 
ashamed to be called the Son of David, the one-time 
shepherd boy of Bethlehem. 

"The Lord looketh upon the heart." This we dare 
never forget. All we have and; are, our gifts and graces 
are nothing in His sight. But a repentant, humble, be- 
lieving, and thankful heart, that is everything with 
Him. He will not even judge our hearts by our words 
and deeds, as do men ; but He will judge our words and 
deeds by what He sees in our hearts. And that is the 
reason why many who are first shall be last, and the 
last first. Amen. 

"0 for a heart to praise my God, 

A heart from sin set free; 
A heart that always feels the Blood 

So freely shed for me! 

A heart resigned, submissive, meek, 

My great Redeemer's throne; 
Where only Christ is heard to speak, 

Where Jesus reigns alone. _\ 



164 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 



A humble, lowly, contrite heart, 

Believing, true, and clean, 
Which neither life nor death can part 

From Him that dwells within. 

A heart in every thought renewed, 

And full of love Divine; 
Perfect, and right, and pure, and good, 

A copy, Lord, of Thine. 

Hymn 264. 



SEXIGESIMA SUNDAY. 
Gospel : Luke 8, 4-15. 

Numb. 13, 25 to 14, 10, especially 30f: "And Caleb stilled 
the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess 
it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went 
up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; 
for they are stronger than we." 

Hymns : 

518. There Is a Land of Pure Delight, v. 5f. 

420. Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty, v. 3f. 

289. Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven, v. 2. 

432. Almighty God, Thy Word Is Cast. 

430. On What Has Now Been Sown. 

378. Am I a Soldier of the Cross? v. 4. 

195. A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. v. 2. 

The Dignity of the Divine Word. 

Our Gospel contains an impressive parable. Our 
Lord shows us how differently the hearts of men re- 
ceive the Word of God. Into the hard heart it can not 
even enter; the Devil takes away the Word lest they 
believe and be saved. Into the shallow heart it can 
strike no root; they receive the Word with joy, but 
in time of temptation fall away. In the unclean heart 
it cannot grow; it is choked out by the thorns of 
riches, pleasures, and cares. Only in the good and 
honest heart does it spring up, and bear fruit an hun- 
dred fold. With such words our Lord describes the 
hearts of men ; this is a looking-glass for every hearer 
of the Word. 

This parable warns those who teach, not to expect 
too much, and yet not to hope for too little. It re- 
minds us that many of our words will be wasted on 



166 SEXIGESIMA SUNDAY 

stony ground ; but also that here and there that prom- 
ise of Isaiah (55, lOf) will be fulfilled: "As the rain 
cometh down and the snow from heaven, and return- 
eth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it 
bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and 
bread to the eater; so shall My Word be that goeth 
forth out of My mouth; it shall not return unto Me 
void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and 
it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." This 
parable also warns each hearer to examine his heart, 
put away what would hinder the Word, and make it 
good soil and a fruitful field. In our 0. T. story the 
same solemn warning appears: so he that hath ears 
to hear, let him hear what God saith; for the dignity 
of the Word brooks no contempt. We note, first, 

The Message That It Speaks. 

The Lord had promised Abraham in the plains of 
Mamre, to give him and his descendants the land of 
Canaan (Gen. 12). And again, and yet again (13 and 
17) He assures him: "Unto thy seed will I give the 
land of thy sojournings." To Isaac also He announced 
that "He would perform the oath which He sware to 
his father Abraham." And as Jacob prays on his stony 
pillow at Bethel, the promise is renewed to him : "The 
land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to 
thy seed," 28, 13). Four hundred years later this faith- 
ful God declared to Moses, that the time had come to 
fulfill this promise, and that Moses was to lead the 
children of Israel (Jacob) up into Canaan. And 
Moses announced this to them as His authorized agent. 
It was a wonderful promise, full of comfort, for Abra- 
ham and Isaac, as they wandered in that strange land, 
full of hope for Jacob, as he fled from it, and as he re- 



SEXIGESIMA SUNDAY 167 

turned again home ; a promise full of joy for Moses, 
who had seen the bondage of his brethren in Egypt. 

The Lord allowed nothing to turn Him from His 
promise. He wrought miracles of might and mercy, 
that He might fulfill this word to His people. He de- 
livered them out of the hand of Pharaoh, led them 
dry-shod through the Red Sea, and went before them 
day and night in the pillar of the cloud and fire. He 
fed them with water out, of the rock, and manna from 
Heaven. He smote the Amalakites for their sake, and 
gave them His Holy Law from Sinai. All this showed 
how faithful and true He was in His promises. 

!&nd now Israel stands on the southern border of 
the promised land. At the command of Moses the 
twelve spies are sent to search it, and bring back news 
about it. Their report is very favorable, as to the land 
itself. It is a "good and fruitful land, flowing with 
milk and honey." The evidence of this appears in the 
orange-like pomegranates and figs they brought back, 
and the immense bunch of grapes hanging from a staff 
over two men's shoulders. That was a joyful sight for 
this people, who had been wandering now for a year in 
the barren desert. 

And the Word we hear and read brings us good 
tidings, for we also are pilgrims to a Heavenly Canaan. 
Our Lord has promised us that "There remaineth now 
a rest for the people of God." How sweetly that mes- 
sage of the Father-house and the many mansions rings 
in the ear of each weary pilgrim. There we shall rest 
from our labors. In that holy and blessed land God 
shall dwell among us, and we shall be His people. 
There shall be no more sickness, or sorrow, pain or 



168 SEXIGESIMA SUNDAY 

death. We have a better promise than the old Patri- 
archs ; and it, too, is attested by miracles of might and 
mercy. A more than Moses is sent to be our Leader, 
even God's beloved Son. It is not merely from bond 
age to an earthly king that He delivers us, but from 
all sin, which is the worst slavery, and from death and 
the DeviL He prays for us : Father I will that those 
whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am, 
that they may behold My glory." He ascended to 
Heaven, and went on before to prepare a place for us. 

As yet we are only on the border of this goodh 
land of promise. But we already taste its fruits, 
sweeter than the pomegranates and figs the spies 
brought out of Canaan. The fruits we taste are the 
forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and peace and joy 
in the Holy Ghost. All these this blessed Word brings 
us, and therefore it is called the Gospel, or good tidings 
It records the promises God has given to the poor chil- 
dren of men, tells of the wonders of His grace wrought 
for our salvation, and shows us the way we must walk 
into the promised land. And on that way it has many 
goodly fruits to strengthen the weary hand and the 
weak knee, and to comfort the doubting heart. What 
a blessed Word it is ! Ought not all men to hear it with 
joy? Yes! But the reason they do not, is because of 

The Struggle It Demands. 

The spies had something more to report about 
Canaan. A strong people dwelt there within walled 
cities, and some were of gigantic stature. It was plain 
that Israel could not win it without a hard struggle. 
The races that dwelt there must be driven out with 
the sword. But in this the spies belied the people, 



SEXIGESIMA SUNDAY 169 

when they said it was "a land that eateth up the in- 
habitants thereof," so crowded that they destroyed one 
another. And it was plain that they lied again, when 
they stated: "All the people we saw in it are men of 
great stature," for they only said "some" before. They 
left the impression that the only outcome of a fight 
with these nations would be Israel's fearful defeat, 
but the source of their opinion was plainly their own 
cowardice, because they said "We were in our own 
sight as grasshoppers" before them. 

Because of this report, the Word and promises of 
God fell on stony, shallow, and thorny ground in the 
hearts of the great majority of Israel. The people 
lifted up their voices and cried and wept throughout 
the whole night. They murmured against Moses, and 
wished they had died in Egypt or in the wilderness: 
"Wherefore doth Jehovah bring us unto this land, to 
fall by the sword? Our Wives and our little ones will 
be a prey; were it not better for us to return to 
Egypt? Let us make a captain, and let us return into 
Egypt!" 

Of such foolish and shameful behaviour Israel was 
guilty. Why did they believe the ten spies and their 
faint-hearted opinion, more than the Word of God? 
Why did they load upon themselves the same guilt these 
ten had shouldered by their false report? Why did 
they think only of the struggle before them, and not 
of the reward which would follow it ; of their enemies, 
and not at all of their ally, the Lord God ? 

They sinned greatly because they forgot all the 
wonders He wrought for them. He who delivered them 
out of Egypt and smote Amalak before them, was able 



170 SEXIGESIMA SUNDAY 

also to cast out these nations, and willing to do so in 
order to fulfill His promise to their fathers. But they 
doubted His might and mercy, yea, even His faithful- 
ness and truth. They really accused God of not being 
able and willing to do what He had promised! They 
utterly despised their God, and lusted after the flesh- 
pots of Egypt, where they had toiled and sighed for 
centuries. The good seed of the Word fell upon stony 
ground in many a heart; in others it took no root so 
that in this time of temptation they fell away; and 
in still others it was choked by their love of fleshly 
ease and pleasure. In few indeed did it bring forth 
fruit. 

This impressive bit of Israel's history is a mirror, 
in which we may behold our own faces aright. The 
Gospel of Jesus Christ demands a struggle from us 
also. There are great enemies we must overcome, be- 
fore we can enter Heaven. We wrestle not with flesh 
and blood, but with supernatural spirits of wickedness. 
And besides these we have the world with its cares 
and pleasures to contend with, and our own flesh with 
its evil impulses and appetites. We must run as one 
in a race, fight and not merely feint, if we are to win 
that crown which is more than a wreath of laurel, and 
never withers. We must endure hardness as good 
soldiers of Jesus Christ, if we would lay hold on eter- 
nal life. He who has set out on the Christian life with 
honest earnestness, knows this by experience. If it 
costs no struggle, it is not a Christian life at all. The 
Heavenward way is a way uphill. 

This struggle it is which keeps thousands from 
doing the will of God, and makes them unwilling even 
to hear His word. They count the cost, like Israel, and 



SEXIGESIMA SUNDAY 171 

not the reward. They despise God and his blessed 
promises, and drift idly with the world, because they 
are not willing to struggle against its current, in a 
Christian life. They fall by the wayside, and bring no 
fruit to perfection. 

And we must confess, that we ourselves have 
often acted just like foolish Israel, before we came to 
a clear, conscious faith. And even now we often mur- 
mur in our hearts against the "hard sayings" of the 
Word, some command or duty which is not easy to do. 
When God's ways are hard for us, we doubt His wis- 
dom and loving faithfulness. Then we think the chil- 
dren of this world have it easier and better. All this 
comes about, because we let our hearts become a way- 
side soil where the good seed of the Word cannot enter, 
a shallow soil where it cannot grow up, and a thorny 
soil where it cannot bear fruit. We may well pray for 
good and honest hearts because of 

The Curse or Blessing It Brings, 

as men despise or obey it. That was a sinful com- 
plaint of unbelieving Israel : "Would that we had died 
in Egypt or in the wilderness!" For them now it is 
fulfilled. The Lord declares in His wrath: "All those 
men that have seen My glory, and My signs which I 
wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have 
tempted Me these ten times, and have not hearkened 
to My voice ; surely they shall not see the land which 
I sware to their fathers" (14, 22f). As they spoke in 
His ears, so did He do to them. The bones bleached in 
that wilderness, of all these murmurers who were 
twenty years and more. 600,000 men had gone out of 
Egypt with their wives and children, and only Caleb 



172 SEXIGESIMA SUNDAY 

and Joshua, the two faithful spies, entered into Canaan. 
The 106th Psalm says of them (v. 24) : 

"Yea, they despised the pleasant land. 

They believed not His Word, 

They murmured in their tents, 

And hearkened not to the voice of Jehovah. 

Therefore He sware unto them, 

That He would overthrow them in the wilderness." 

And the Apostle says (I. Cor. 10, 6) : "Now these 
things were our examples, to the intent we should not 
lust after evil things, as they also lusted." He who 
does not believe the Word of God, and bring forth its 
fruits, can never enter into the blessed land of promise. 
"The fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and 
murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idola- 
ters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that 
burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second 
death," (Rev. 21, 8). 

But there is life, salvation, and blessedness for 
those who believe God's Word, and by His grace obey 
it. Among the spies were those two, who denounced 
the false witness of the others. Caleb speaks of the 
promised land to the people : "Let us go up at once, and 
possess it ; for we are well able to overcome it." And 
when they murmur against the Lord and rebel, these 
two rend their clothes, and cry: "The land, which we 
passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good 
land. If Jehovah delight in us, then He will bring us 
into this land * * * only rebel not against Jehovah, 
neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are 
bread for us : their defense is removed from over them, 
and Jehovah is with us: fear them not." Because of 
their faith, these two, Caleb and Joshua, died not in the 



SEXIGESIMA SUNDAY 173 

wilderness, but came in at last and dwelt in the prom- 
ised land. 

Christian faith still acts today like Caleb and 
Joshua. It has nothing in common with that boastful 
pride, which laughs at the enemies in its own imagi- 
nary strength. But neither has it any likeness to that 
timid fear, which thinks the enemies too mighty, and 
forgets God's helping hand. Faith knows the goodly 
land which the Lord has promised us, and His faithful- 
ness, as well as the mighty enemies in the way, and 
the struggle before us. But it looks first and most to 
the Almighty and Merciful One by our side, who fights 
for us. It knows that "with might of ours can nought 
be done;" but relies on His help to win the day, and 
hold the field forever. 

So the Word of God strengthens believing souls in 
every struggle, and gives them new courage, confi- 
dence and patience. That is the rich fruit of the Word 
in every good and honest heart. And therefore the 
faithful come at last into the land of promise, and see 
and possess the things that God has prepared for them 
that love Him." Its struggles end in victory; its 
watching unto prayer in eternal peace and joy. Such 
is the dignity and value of the Divine Word we hear 
and read. It speaks glad tidings, but demands an ear- 
nest struggle. It brings a curse or blessing, as we de- 
spise or obey it. Therefore with Joshua and Caleb, let 
not our hearts be troubled, when others doubt and 
despair, and disobey the Word. With Moses and 
Aaron let us fall on our faces, and pray for our poor 
brethren who sin against God's Word. And let us 
mourn because we ourselves are so often but half- 



174 SEXIGESIMA SUNDAY 

hearted in our faith and obedience. May the Lord give 
us firm faith and whole-souled love for His Word, that 
it may bring forth fruit in us with patience, and we 
may one day enter into the inheritance He has prom- 
ised us in the Heavenly Canaan. Amen. 



QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
Gospel : Luke 18, 31-43. 

Isaiah 63, 1-8: "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with 
dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His ap- 
parel, marching in the greatness of His strength? I that speak 
in righteousness mighty to save. Wherefore art Thou red in 
Thine apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the 
winevat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the 
peoples there was no man with me: yea I trod them in Mine 
anger, and trampled them in My wrath; and their lifeblood is 
sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My raiment, 
etc." 

Hymns : 

90. Glory be to Jesus. 

383. The Son of God Goes Forth to War. v. 1. 

384. Soldiers of Christ, Arise, v. 1 and 4. 

97. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, v. If. 

99. Sacred Head, Now Wounded, v If. 

72. Art Thou Weary, Art Thou Languid, v. 2-5. 

91. The Royal Standard Forward Goes. v. 2f. 

Behold, We Go Up to Jerusalem. 

With next Wednesday we enter the Lenten Season. 
With it there comes even into homes and hearts where 
the Lord Jesus does not live and reign, more of thought- 
ful earnestness. In the Church we lay aside our Halle- 
lujahs, and the merry-making of worldly society be- 
gins to die out about us. The faithful disciples of our 
Lord love to gather in these weeks about Golgotha, the 
Hill of Death, and look up to the Man on the Cross, who 
redeemed us with His precious blood. For them that 
Cross is a veritable Jacob's ladder, with angels of God 
ascending and descending on it. Streams of blessing 
flow into each heart which keeps this season aright 
with devout worship and meditation. 



176 QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY 

Our Gospel this Sunday stands as the gateway to 
Lent. There we read : "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, 
and all things shall be accomplished which are written 
concerning the Son of Man, etc." Our text belongs to 
those things written by the prophets of old, and now 
fulfilled in our Saviour's Passion. Therefore, as we 
stand on the threshold of this season, we will let these 
verses direct our eyes first to 

The Man of Sorrows. 

The prophet Isaiah sees here a noble figure. This 
One comes from Edom, the people who persecuted 
Israel with bitter hatred, and whose chief city was 
Bozrah. This hero wears garments dyed a deep red. 
He is "glorious in His apparel, marching in the great- 
ness of His strength." He "speaks here in righteous- 
ness, mighty to save." The prophet marks the blood- 
red spots on His garments, and asks why His apparel 
is red ; and the answer is : "I have trodden the wine- 
press alone." 

It is plain that this dialogue is a prophecy which 
deals with Christ's redemptive struggle and victory. 
Isaiah need not} tell us who this holy and heroic figure 
is. We know whom he foresees here in spirit. When 
our Lord had rebuked the winds and waves, and calmed 
the tumult by His almighty hand, they said: "What 
manner of man is this, that even the winds and the 
sea obey Him?" And when He entered into Jerusa- 
lem for the last time, the whole city was stirred and 
asked: "Who is this?" But we know this One who 
"marches, or travels, in the greatness of His strength." 
And we know Him by the "glorious apparel He wears. 
Many a time, with that poor suffering woman (in Mat. 



QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY 177 

9) we have laid hold upon the hem of His garment in 
faith. Though Herod put on Him a white robe, and 
the soldiers of Pilate a purple one, and though these 
afterward divided His garments among them, and cast 
lots for His seamless mantle, He still stands before us 
in this deep red apparel. It is He who "comes from 
Edom," back from the fray with our foes, the false 
and bloodthirsty, who betrayed, persecuted, and put 
Him to death. It is the Man of Sorrows, to whom all 
eyes turn in this holy and solemn season with adora- 
tion. 

Every sermon now is meant to fix our eyes on Him. 
There are many figures in the History of our Lord's 
Passion, but this is not printed in our Church Books, 
and read at home and in our services, that we might 
become better acquainted with Herod and Pilate, Annas 
and Caiphas, Peter and Judas, the women and the 
disciples, the dying thief and the centurion under the 
Cross. In it we are to behold before all these and above 
them all Him who first loved us, and whom our souls 
love. As the disciples on the Mount of Transfigura- 
tion "saw no man, save Jesus only," so we have eyes 
only for Him, "who bare our sorrows, and carried our 
griefs." And again there follows in this O. T. pic- 
ture 

The Great Work He Wrought for Us. 

It is set before us in many different ways by the 
prophets. Now our Saviour is portrayed as the great 
Servant of Jehovah, in whom He delights ; then as the 
Prophet, whom we are to hear; or as the King who 
will execute judgment and justice in the earth; the 
Shepherd, leading His flock; the Hero to whom the 
gathering of the people shall be; or the Bridegroom, 



178 QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY 

adorning His Church with rich array. But here the 
prophet sees Him as One who treads the winepress. It 
was the custom of Israel to place the grapes in a vat 
hewn in the rock, and tramp upon them until the juice 
of the grapes ran through a sieve into the waiting 
vessel. Thus the treading of the grapes became a fami- 
liar figure in the O. and N. T. for the wrath of God 
against sin. What is pictured here sums up all we 
see our Saviour doing for us in the Gospel : Destroying 
the works of the Devil, cancelling sin, and abolishing 
death. 

We see Him at the Last Supper, saying to His 
disciples : "Drink ye all of it ; for this is my Blood of 
the Covenant, which is poured out for many unto re- 
mission of sins" (Mat. 26, 28). And then He rises 
from the table, and says : "Arise, let us go hence." His 
treading of the winepress is about to begin. We see 
Him in Gethsemane, lying on His face and praying: 
"Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me." 
We behold Him before Pilate in the purple robe and 
with the crown of thorns, bleeding from His scourging 
at the hands of the rude soldiers, and such an object 
of pity, that Pilate cries: "Behold the man! This is 
not one to fear as a rival of Caesar." We see Him on 
the Cross, stricken, smitten, and afflicted, thirsting, 
suffering, groaning, expiring. In all this He is tread- 
ing the winepress of God's wrath against sin. "The 
day of vengeance (upon His foes and ours) was in His 
heart, and the year of His redeemed is come" (v. 4). 

Isaiah continues: "I looked, and there was none to 
help ; and I wondered that there was none to uphold : 
therefore Mine own arm brought salvation unto Me; 
and My wrath, it upheld Me" (v. 5) . No man or angel 



QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY 179 

could do aught to help our Redeemer. The 49th Psalm 
says (v. 7) of those who boast themselves in the multi- 
tude of their riches : 

"None of them can by any means redeem his brother, 

Nor give to God a ransom for him; 

(For the redemption of their life is costly, 

And it faileth for ever); 

That he should still live always 

That he should not see corruption." 

Even His intimate disciples could not watch one 
hour with Him there in Gethsemane, and later "they 
all forsook Him and fled." "He looked, and there was 
none to help." 

That saying, "I wondered," means more exactly, 
"I was terrified." Our Saviour was troubled as He 
wrestled alone with death, so that His sweat was as 
it were great drops of blood falling down to the 
ground. The earnestness of that struggle was like the 
desperate fury of a battle, so that He is pictured (v. 6) 
here as battling with Edom and others who were the 
implacable enemies of His people: "And I trod down 
the peoples in Mine anger, and made them drunk in 
My wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the 
earth." Yet even here He is fighting single-handed 
against our foes ; it is only an angel from Heaven who 
appears in His Passion and then but to strengthen 
Him, though the twelve legions stand drawn up, to 
march at His command. The timid disciples flee, and 
even Peter, who swore faithfulness unto death, denies 
Him in the High Priest's palace. When He is crucified 
there are none to help; there even His Father in 
Heaven seems to have forsaken Him. Thus He trod 
the winepress alone, and wondered, or was terrified 
"that there was none to uphold" Him. 



180 QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY 

The grapes He trod were those sins, which are 
our soul's worst enemies, each of them blood-red with 
guilt. Who shall describe all the weariness, pain and 
anguish He bore for us who made Him to serve or 
"burdened Him with our sins, and wearied Him with 
our transgressions (Is. 43, 24)." In one thing this 
prophecy falls short; it says nothing about the shed- 
ding of His own holy and precious blood for our sins. 
It is these which really sprinkled and reddened his 
garments, and this makes Him more glorious than any 
hero returning victorious from the battles of earth, 
with the blood of his enemies upon him. It is we, rather 
than the 0. T. prophet, who realize fully how "glorious 
He is in His scarlet apparel." 

And the true "greatness of His strength" is this, 
that "He speaks in righteousness, mighty to save." 
This is the Champion of whom Jeremiah spoke (23, 5) : 
"Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise 
unto David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as 
king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and 
righteousness in the land. In His days Judah shall be 
saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is His 
name whereby He shall be called: Jehovah our right- 
eousness." This is the Heavenly Bridegroom, who 
"betrothed himself to us in righteousness, and 
in justice, and in loving kindness, and in mer- 
cies" (Hos. 2, 19). He "was made unto us wis- 
dom from God, and righteousness and sanctifica- 
tion, and redemption" (I. Cor. 1, 30). And His King- 
dom is "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy 
Spirit" (Rom. 14, 7). The poor sinner may now say 
confidently with Paul: "Being therefore justified by 
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus 



QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY 181 

Christ" (Rom. 5, 1). Thus is He "mighty to save." 
And finally Isaiah speaks of 

The Thankoffering We Ought to Bring Him. 

When he comes to the seventh verse of our chap- 
ter, he can no longer contain himself, and bursts forth 
into praise and thanksgiving: "I will make mention 
of the loving kindnesses of Jehovah, and the praises of 
Jehovah, according to all that Jehovah hath bestowed 
upon us, and the great goodness toward the house of 
Israel, which He hath bestowed on them according to 
His mercies, and according to the multitude of His lov- 
ing kindnesses." Even the blind man in our Gospel, 
when restored to sight, followed after the Lord and 
"glorified God." And all the people, when they saw it, 
"gave praise to God." It is true that in this holy 
Lenten Season we sorrow over our Lord's bitter suf- 
ferings for us, and mourn our sins which He bore for 
us. Yet this is not a sad and melancholy season. The 
remembrance of these things makes of it a real joyful 
thanksgiving season, a time for His praise. Our 
Lenten hymns are full of the "Glory that should be to 
Jesus." 

It were cause enough for hearty thanksgiving, if 
He had only fed us with earthly bread, as He did the 
hungry multitudes in the wilderness; if He had only 
healed our sicknesses, as He did the blind man and the 
leper ; if He had only delivered us from bodily danger, 
as He did the tempest-tossed disciples on the Lake. But 
we have much more to thank Him for ; we know that 
"The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and 
with His stripes we are healed" (Is. 53, 5). 

Another reason for thanksgiving is suggested in 



182 QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY 

the eighth verse: "For He said, Surely, they are My 
people, children that will not deal falsely: so He was 
their Saviour." He expects us to live up to what He 
has done for us; we must not disappoint Him. We 
dare not be unbelieving, false, and thankless children. 
He must have no cause to sorrow over us, as He did 
over the nine lepers, who "returned not to give thanks 
to God." 

Again, our thank-offering is acceptable and pleas- 
ing to Him. Many sacrifices were brought to our Lord 
in the days of His flesh. The Wise Men opened their 
treasures before Him, and gave Him gold, frankincense 
and myrrh. Levi, the publican, renamed Matthew, 
made Him a feast in his house. Zacchseus received Him 
with joy, and vowed to give half of his goods to the 
poor, and to return each dishonest gain four-fold. 
Martha was busy with many things, and cumbered 
with much serving for His sake. The women who fol- 
lowed Him out of Galilee ministered unto Him of their 
substance. And all these sacrifices He accepted ; indeed 
of one He said: "She hath done a good work on Me. 
This shall be spoken of as a memorial of her." Just 
so acceptable will be the hymns and prayers, the offer- 
ings and services we bring Him, as we stand in spirit 
beneath His Cross. 

But woe unto us, if we thank Him only with our 
lips, and that saying (Matt. 15, 8) applies to us: 

"This people honoreth Me with their lips; 

But their heart is far from Me. 

In vain do they worship Me, 

Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men. 

We dare not be such children that deal falsely; 
our thankoff ering must be in deed and in truth ; the 
faithfulness which follows our Master and walks in 
His ways, the earnestness which keeps our flesh under 



QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY 183 

the love which for His sake leaves all that hinders His 
service, the patience which bears the cross after Him, 
and walks humbly and meekly among our brethren. 
Such thankofferings are pleasing indeed to Him. 

These let us bring with diligence, for the day is 
coming when these words of the prophets shall have 
their complete fulfillment. Then, as John saw in his 
vision on Patmos, the great winepress of the wrath of 
God shall be trodden again. The same Saviour, who 
came in grace to tread down our sins, will trample in 
judgment upon that "vintage of the earth" who hold 
fast their sins at His coming. John saw Him upon the 
white horse, coming to make war upon all who are 
false, unfaithful and unrighteous. He was clothed in 
a vesture dipped in blood, and the armies of Heaven 
followed Him. His enemies will be made His footstool. 
May none of us be put to shame in that Day. As yet 
there is time to prepare. The holy Lenten Season is 
before us ; our day of grace is not yet ended. "Behold 
now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salva- 
tion," for now we may still look up to the Man of Sor- 
rows who was crucified for us, and rejoice in the great 
work of redemption He wrought for us, and bring 
Him the thankofferings in heart and life, which He so 
well deserves. 

"Who is This that comes from Edom, 
All His raiment stained with blood, 

To the captive speaking freedom, 
Bringing' and bestowing good; 

Glorious in the garb he wears, 

Glorious in the spoil He bears? 

'Tis the Saviour, now victorious, 

Traveling onward in His might; 
'Tis the Saviour; how glorious 

To His people is the sight! 
Satan conquered and the grave, 
Jesus now is strong to save. Amen." 

No. 191 G. C. Book. 



FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 
Gospel: Matthew 4, 1-11. 

Gen. 3, 15: "And I will put enmity between thee and the 
woman, and between thy seed and her Seed. He shall bruise thy 
head, and thou shalt bruise His heel." 

Hymns: 

63. O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High. v. 3. 

82. Saviour, When in Dust to Thee. v. 2. 

52. My Dear Redeemer, and My Lord. v. 3. 

451. Now That the Sun Is Beaming Bright. 

195. A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. v. 3. 

62. In the Cross of Christ I Glory. 

The Holy War Against the Serpent. 

When our Lord came to Bethany for the last time, 
and sat at meat in Simon's house (John 12, 3), Mary- 
anointed His head and feet with precious ointment. 
We remember how the disciples murmured at the 
waste (as they called it) of the ointment, which might 
have been sold for 300 shillings. We recall also how 
He commended her, saying that wherever this Gospel 
is preached her deed of love shall be cited. 

We have entered again upon the hallowed Lenten 
season, the yearly celebration of our Lord's Passion 
and Death. What may we do to show our love for Him, 
and to honor Him aright? This Gospel of the Cross 
is now preached, that we may learn to bring forth 
works well pleasing in His sight. Well for us, if it 
awaken us to repentance, and deepen in us godly sor- 
row for the sins which nailed Him there ; if our faith 
in the grace and merits of the Christ is strengthened, 



FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 185 

and we follow Him in His holy war against sin and 
Satan; if we learn of Him patience under the Cross, 
and joyful hope in life and death ! We can bring Him 
no sweeter spikenard than this. May this House of 
God, and our own homes be full of it! May this season 
with the message it brings richly bless our homes and 
hearts. At our Lenten services we will meditate upon 
our Lord's Passion as it is foreshadowed and set forth 
in the Old Testament; and today we will hear about 
the first promise of our Saviour, given to men in Eden. 
It calls us to the holy war against the Serpent, and is 
first of all. 

A Word to Strengthen Our Faith. 

The Serpent had deceived the woman, and despis- 
ing God's commandment she had eaten of the Tree of 
Knowledge. Therefore the Lord God said to the Ser- 
pent: "Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou 
above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; 
upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all 
the days of thy life ; and I will put enmity, etc." 

This sentence went into effect at once. That the 
Serpent could speak to Eve was the first miracle of 
the Devil ; and this change, which came upon him was 
the first miracle of God after the Creation. Moreover 
the enmity between them lasts to our very day. The 
serpent is a constant and dangerous enemy of man, 
as it lurks beneath the lovely flowers of the tropics, 
or springing out of the bushes bruises his heel with 
its deadly bite. And on the other hand there is no 
other creature for which man has such a horror and 
hatred. We kill serpents, and often those which 
are perfectly harmless, because of this great enmity 



186 FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 

come down from the day when God cursed this beast. 
Nature has no better proof for the truth of God's Word, 
and even of this earliest record with which the critics 
find so much fault. 

But after this sentence upon the Serpent follows 
something more important and glorious. Behind the 
Serpent stands the Devil, who made use of it as an 
instrument to tempt our first parents. Therefore the 
sentence falls also on him as the father of all lies and 
sins. His head is to be bruised, and his power de- 
stroyed. Here is the first Gospel, the promise of the 
woman's Seed, who comes to wage a holy war against 
the works of the Devil, and as our Champion to set us 
free from sin, death and Hell. 

Therefore the first three Lenten Gospels show us 
how our Lord contends with the Devil and overcomes 
him: in the Temptation, in healing the Canaanite's 
daughter, "grievously vexed of a devil," and by "cast- 
ing out the devil which was dumb, not through Beelze- 
bub, but with the finger of God." This warfare was 
the real life-work of our Lord and Saviour. For this 
He became man and took upon Him our flesh, that He 
might step into the arena as our Champion. When 
all Israel dared not face the mighty giant Goliath, 
David went out to meet him in their stead. So the Son 
of David, when we were too weak for the struggle, 
came into the world to take up our cause against 
Satan. With His teachings, first of all, He delivered 
us from the dominion of the Devil and translated us 
into the Kingdom of God ; with His miracles He broke 
the power of the Devil and drove Him and his demons 
out; with His sufferings and death He robbed him of 
his power and set at naught him who had the power of 



FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 187 

death, the Devil ; by his glorious Resurrection He left 
Death without his sting and the Grave without his vic- 
tory ; and by His victorious Ascension He made a show 
openly of the principality and power of the Devil and 
triumphed openly over him. And still today He wars 
triumphantly against him, as He guards His Church 
of believers from his might, and grants that prayer 
of Paul, that "the God of Peace may beat down Satan 
beneath our feet." But a greater day is coming when 
His warfare shall be accomplished, and Death, the 
Devil, and Hell shall be cast into the lake of fire. So 
Christ, the Seed of the woman, bruises the Serpent's 
head. All his venom and power is in his head, you 
note ; and this shall be crushed and put to shame. 

But that other word must also be fulfilled; the 
Serpent is to bruise the heel of the woman's Seed. This 
is the story of our Saviour's Passion. These tempta- 
tions in the wilderness and His after-life were the 
bites of the poisoned fangs of the Old Serpent; and 
the bitter hatred, mocking scorn, and unbelief He ex- 
perienced on every hand. And as this holy war waxed 
fierce in the days of His Passion, the wounds became 
more severe; they grappled hand to hand in Geth- 
semane where His soul was sorrowful even unto death, 
and His sweat like drops of blood. He was betrayed 
by one of His own disciples, "into whom Satan entered," 
and taken captive by a wicked band. In the palace of 
the High Priest they spit in His face, and smote Him 
with their fists. And hearken how Peter, once His 
faithful follower, denies Him, because "Satan is sift- 
ing him as wheat." All these are wounds in His war- 
fare against the Serpent, and Satan's bruising of His 
heel: the scourging by Pilate's soldiers, the purple 



188 FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 

robe and crown of thorns; the awful death on the 
Cross amid the shameful company of malefactors ; the 
mocking of the priests and scribes who pass by wag- 
ging their heads ; the last hellish anguish of body and 
soul, out of which He cries : "My God, My God ! Why 
hast Thou forsaken Me?" 

We sorrow as we remember these things He must 
needs bear for our salvation. But we rejoice that 
these wounds, sharp as they were, were only the bruis- 
ing of His heel, and already on the third day were 
healed, as He rose all glorious from the grave in His 
triumph over the Devil. And especially do we rejoice, 
because He who bore this for us, so bruised the Old 
Serpent's head, that if with all our heart we believe in 
Christ, Satan can have no more dominion over us, and 
can do us no lasting harm. In this season, when His 
Passion and death are declared to His Church, we 
bring therefore our homage and thanksgiving to the 
Great Captain of our Salvation. And the Easter sea- 
son becomes the day of His power, when His people 
should be "willing and serve Him in the beauty of holi- 
ness." Such is the precious ointment we may bring, 
which will fill the whole house with its sweet odor. 
But our text also contains 

A Word of Warning for Us. 

When Gideon went out against the hosts of Midian 
with his little band, he said to his 300 followers (Jud. 
7, 17) : "Look on me, and do likewise; and behold, 
when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it 
shall be that, as I do so shall ye do !" So our Heavenly 
Gideon admonishes us, and this message of the holy 
war which strengthened our faith, becomes also a word 
of warning; we too are to wage that war. 



FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 189 

Hundreds of years ago bands of Christian Cru- 
saders, with the Cross upon their shoulders, marched 
to the Holy Land to wrest our Saviour's sepulchre 
from the hands of the infidel. Those were called "the 
holy wars ;" but this is holier still, the holiest of them 
all. We who are baptized into His Name renounce the 
Devil and all his works and ways, and are bound to 
share His warfare against the Devil; as Israel bap- 
tized to Moses, followed him through the Red Sea. He 
is a craven coward, who hangs back when his Captain 
leads the attack. 

We, too, must war against this Prince of Darkness. 
He is not yet fully overcome ; he still has much power ; 

Deep guile and great might 
Are his dread arms in fight." 

How mightily he works today in the children of 
unbelief and disobedience! They are the seed of the 
Serpent, to which our text refers. Therefore our Lord 
called them a "generation of vipers," when he found 
some of them in His Church; and spake words like 
these : "Ye are of your father, the Devil, and the lusts 
of your father ye will do." Therefore John says 
(I. 3, 8) : "He that doeth sin is of the Devil; for the 
Devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was 
the Son of God manifested, that He might destroy the 
works of the Devil." Against this seed we too must 
arise, and especially in our day when they are many 
and bold. When they carry on the Devil's teaching, 
and carry out his work, there we must meet them face 
to face. When they would take from our Christian 
law and order the Lord's Day, harm the Christian 
Church or home, or take the Bible from our schools, 
we ought to stand as watchmen on the walls to defend 



190 FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 

them. Shame on any Christian, who in such a time of 
warfare, folds his hands in his lap, and either makes 
common cause with the enemy or looks with idle indif- 
ference upon their doings. Many nominal Christians 
have no consciousness of sin; they are ready to do 
away with the death penalty; the suffragette move- 
ment is a protest against man's lazy selfishness and 
sinful self-will, which leaves great sins unrebuked. 

But the post where each of us must stand guard 
is first of all our own heart. The Devil still "goeth 
about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 
Only he does not always roar; he pretends to be our 
best and truest friend; he offers us gifts, but only 
to arouse evil desires and to lead our hearts astray. So 
he offered Eve the fruit which was pleasant to the 
eyes, and promised she should be as God, knowing 
good and evil. He did not tell her that all the good 
she knew already, and the evil she would soon bitterly 
experience, if she listened to him. So he offered Achan 
"the goodly Babylonian mantle and 200 shekels of sil- 
ver, and a wedge of gold" (Josh. 7, 21) , to make him a 
thief; and David a beautiful but weak and worthless 
woman, to make him an adulterer; and Judas the 30 
pieces of silver, to make him betray his loving Master ; 
and our Lord all the kingdoms of this world, if He 
would fall down and worship him. We also have our 
weak points, and the Devil knows them very well. He 
does not tempt us with what we care little about, but 
what our hearts delight in. He would lead us deeper 
into selfishness, pride, error, unbelief, and despair, that 
we may become his servants, and be forever his pos- 
session. Oh! It is a bitter war he wages against us. 
And what makes the struggle so hard for us, is that 



FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 191 

our fallen nature inclines us to be friends with the 
Devil ; we gladly follow the desires of our flesh and do 
his will. But as the woman's seed we are called of 
God to this enmity and warfare against the Deceiver 
of Souls. So we must battle against the lusts of the 
flesh and passions of our hearts, and be faithful and 
true to our Leader, that we may finally prevail and 
gain the victory. 

In such a war we must not expect to go scot-free 
from all wounds. The old Enemy still seeks out the 
believer, as in Luther's day, to rob him of his goods 
and good name, his worship of God and civil liberties, 
to exile him and even drive him out of life. That is 
the record of Church History from the beginning to 
this day; each faithful follower must feel something 
of this world's persecution. For this reason many try 
to lean to both sides; they do not dare to break with 
Christ, yet they hope to avoid a break with the world 
and its Prince. But those who carry water on both 
shoulders in this contest, will surely be punished and 
put to shame in the end, because they are aiding and 
abetting the Enemy. 

But the Christian, who in all his heart believes 
in his Saviour, goes into this holy war with joyous 
courage. He knows the wounds the world inflicts will 
be light, the bruising of his heel, and that these will 
soon be healed; if not here, then there above. If the 
enemy takes his goods, he knows there is a treasure in 
Heaven he will not lose, and that what he leaves here 
for Jesus' sake he shall receive of Him a hundredfold 
again. If his good name is evil spoken of by men, he 
remembers what our Lord says (Mat. 5, 11) : "Blessed 
are ye when men shall reproach you and persecute you, 



192 FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 

and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My 
sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is 
your reward in Heaven, etc." 

Even if he must lay down his life, he knows that 
"He that shall lose his life for My sake, shall find it," 
and have eternal life in its poor stead. He, whose heart 
is full of faith thinks not of these wounds, but of the 
Master's promise (Rev. 2 and 3) "to him that over- 
cometh, how he shall eat of the tree of life in the midst 
of the Paradise of God, and not be hurt by the second 
death, and of the new name and the white raiment, and 
of sitting with Christ upon the throne." We should 
strive all the more earnestly for these rewards, when 
in our day and land we are called upon to lose and 
leave so little for the Lord's sake, when our wounds 
are so light in this holy war compared with the saints 
and martyrs of old. 

Our Lenten season shows us the Author and Fin- 
isher of our faith, as He leads on against the Old 
Enemy. The best offering we can bring Him, the oint- 
ment He values most, is our earnest vow to follow Him 
and fight under His banner against the Devil, the sins 
of this world, the lusts of the flesh, and every evil 
thought which would turn our hearts from Him. God 
open our eyes to see what is left of the seed of the 
Serpent in our home, heart, or life, and to make a good 
fight against it with the weapons of the Word and 
Spirit. God keep us from counting the cost sorrow- 
fully; and grant that we may rather rejoice, when we 
are accounted worthy to suffer with Christ, and to en- 
ter into His reward. Amen. 



THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 

(REMINISCERE). 

Gospel: Matthew 15, 21-28. 

Gen. 22, 1-19: "And it came to pass after these things, 
that God did prove Abraham, and He said unto him, Abraham; 
and he said, Here am I. And He said, Take now thy son, thine 
only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the 
land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon 
one of the mountains which I will tell thee of, etc." 

Hymns: 

61. Sweet the Moments, Rich in Blessing, v. 2 and 4. 

62. In the Cross of Christ I Glory, v. 1 and 4. 
266. for a Faith That Will Not Shrink, v. 1-3. 
348. O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go. v. 1 and 3f . 
360. My Faith Looks Up to Thee. v. 1-3. 

394. O Thou, From Whom All Goodness Flows, v. 3f. 

A Father's Great Sacrifice. 

The Word of God tells of many a hard way which 
sinful men have walked. That was no easy journey, 
when Adam and Eve turned their backs upon the 
peaceful quiet and blessed fellowship of Paradise, and 
the cherubim barred the gates behind them with nam- 
ing sword, while before them waited a life full of toil, 
trouble, and death, the wages of sin. That was a hard 
road Jacob traveled away from his father's house, and 
the land of his happy childhood, into a strange and 
unknown country. That, too, was a hard journey 
David made up the slope of Olivet, with bare feet and 
covered face, because of Absalom's rebellion. That 
was a hard way the woman in our Gospel walked after 
our Lord, in spite of sharp rebuffs. But all these are 



194 SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 

only faint parallels to our Saviour's Way of Sorrow in 
the days of His Holy Passion. If we would find a real 
comparison for this, we must seek it in the journey 
Abraham made to Mt. Moriah to bring the sacrifice 
God demanded of him. Heaven and earth know no 
greater revelation of God's pitying love, than when 
His dear Son went out to Golgotha, a sacrifice for the 
sins of the world. And Heaven and earth know no 
greater revelation of human faith, than when Abra- 
ham at God's command went up the mount to sacrifice 
Isaac, his only son, the beloved son of promise. This 
memorable journey will always be for us, first 

A Type of Christ's Way of the Cross. 

The three great religions of the world look back 
with reverence to this journey of Abraham. The Mo- 
hammedans still read in their holy book of this public 
trying and testing of Abraham. And the Jew sees in 
it a deeper meaning, believing that Abraham's inter- 
rupted sacrifice atoned for the sins of their nation. 
They still pray in the synagogue, that God would "re- 
gard the binding of Isaac, and not their sin." But it 
is only in the Christian Church that Abraham's faith 
finds its full depth of meaning, in not withholding his 
son, his only son. Paul uses almost the same words, 
when he speaks of God's gift to man (Rom. 8, 32) : 
"He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up 
for us all." Here the true import of Abraham's jour- 
ney is revealed ; it looked forward to Christ's Way of 
the Cross, and pointed to the great sacrifice of God the 
Father. 

We see in Abraham a kind father. He was reluc- 
tant to cast out of the house mocking Ismael; yet at 



SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 195 

God's command he did this and more, sacrificing even 
the beloved son of the promise. So the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ is full of holy and pitying love. 
He desires not the death of the sinner, but that he 
turn from his way and live. He sent His only-begotten 
Son into suffering, shame, and an awful death, that the 
demands of His righteous Law and of His Divine Love 
toward us might be satisfied. As Abraham's sacrifice 
proved his love for God completely, so God gives us the 
strongest evidence of His love for us in the sacrifice 
of the Christ. Now a sinful world must cry beneath 
the Cross : "God so loved the world, that He gave His 
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him 
should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3, 16). 
Abraham provided the knife and the fire for Isaac, and 
so God the Lord lifted up the sharp sword of His right- 
eousness against His Son, until He must needs cry: 
"My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" 

And if we compare our Saviour with Isaac in this 
familiar Bible story, we will find many more parallels 
here. Isaac was the only son of his father, and the heir 
of his goods and the promises. For many years such 
a son was mentioned repeatedly in God's promises, and 
Abraham had been expecting him in faith. By the 
power of the Almighty he was born, when both Abra- 
ham and his wife were aged. Again Isaac was the be- 
loved of his father, the joy and delight of his heart. 
He had done nothing worthy of death, but must suffer 
as the innocent one, simply at God's command. He 
went obediently with Abraham, and was submissive 
even when laid on the altar, and the knife was lifted 
to take his life, still so new and beautiful. 

In all this we find a wonderful resemblance to our 



196 SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 

Saviour, the only-begotten of the Father, whom He 
"appointed heir of all things" (Heb. 1, 2). Through 
the centuries He had been promised, and awaited in 
faith by godly patriarchs. His birth of the Virgin was 
another miracle of God's power. And that this is His 
well-beloved Son, God attests at His Baptism in the 
Jordan, and again on the Mount of Transfiguration. 
He, too, had done nothing worthy of death, but was 
"holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and 
made higher than the Heavens" (Heb. 7, 26). This 
even Judas, His betrayer, confessed, Pilate and his 
wife, the thief on the Cross, and the centurion beneath 
it. The real reason for His sacrifice on the Cross was 
that it was the will and plan of God, wherefore "God 
exalted Him who was obedient unto death, and gave 
Him a name above all others" (Phil. 2, 8). 

And the deeper we look into this narrative, the 
more resemblance we find. Isaac is not to be sacrificed 
in the house of his father, but on a mount. And so 
Jesus is not sacrificed in the Temple, His Father's 
House, where all the other offerings of the Old Cove- 
nant are brought. His altar of sacrifice, the Cross, 
stood on Mt. Calvary in full view of the Temple on Mt. 
Moriah. Isaac goes to his death silently; only once 
does he open his mouth to speak in these verses. And 
our Saviour was "led as a lamb to the slaughter, and 
as a sheep before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not 
His mouth" (Is. 53, 7). When He spoke on that way 
of the Cross, it was only in prayer to His Father, or 
to warn poor sinners. Isaac began his one question, 
"My father." And Jesus' first word on the Cross was 
"Father, forgive them," and his last : "Father, into Thy 
hands I commend My Spirit." Even the wood for the 



SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 197 

sacrifice laid on Isaac at the foot of the mount, finds a 
striking parallel in the Cross our Lord bore part way 
to the place of execution, and as Isaac was bound, so 
was our Lord before he was nailed to the Cross and 
lifted up. Moreover, for three days, as they journey 
to Moriah, Isaac had been as one dead to the heart of 
his father. This was about the space of time our 
Saviour lay in the tomb. On the third day, Isaac began 
to live again to his father, when the knife in his up- 
lifted hand had been stayed. And just so our Saviour 
rose on the third day. Isaac returned again to his 
father's house; and our Saviour ascended to His 
Father's House on high. In this Isaac, who survived 
the sacrifice, all the promises of God were renewed and 
confirmed to Abraham; and so in the Christ risen 
from the dead, the promises of God are yea and amen, 
fulfilled and sealed to Abraham's believing children. 
Yea verily, now it is true, that "In thy Seed shall all 
the nations of the earth be blessed." 

Where ever we turn our eyes, this journey is a 
type of Christ's Way of the Cross. Even the ram 
which Abraham sacrificed instead of his son, was the 
beginning of all the 0. T. sacrifices, offered for cen- 
turies in the Temple on Mt. Moriah for the children 
of Abraham, until at last God spared not His Only Son 
and the eternal and perfect Sacrifice was offered for 
His people. Thus our text becomes of great impor- 
tance in the revelation of God's plan of salvation. Be- 
fore Abraham's time the coming Saviour was known 
only as He who should bruise the Serpent's head, as the 
victorious Hero. But now His vicarious and atoning 
sacrifice begins to have its place in the promises of God 
and the hopes of man. 



198 SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 

The faithful wife of Luther could not get it into 
her head, that God would ever command such a horrid 
thing as this, that a father should slay and sacrifice his 
own son. Luther answered : But, dear Katie, can you 
then believe that God gave His only Son to die for us, 
when there was nothing in Heaven or earth more dear 
to Him?" That question and answer bring out God's 
way of salvation in all its wondrous love for us poor 
sinners. When we speak of it, we may well with Moses 
take the shoes from off our feet, for the place in which 
we stand is holy ground. But this is also 

A Picture of the Way of Our Pilgrimage. 

This holy narrative with its depths of meaning 
concerns us in another way. It pictures our journey 
on earth. In many ways, Abraham had shown his 
faith and obedience to God, both in life's joys and sor- 
rows. Yet here the Lord tests him as never before, 
demanding the sacrifice of his son. How the heart of 
that father and mother rejoiced in Isaac ! They watched 
this lovely young life unfold with delight, as each day 
brought some new evidence of his childlike love and 
obedience. He became the light of their old age, and 
what hopes they cherished as they looked out into the 
future, when in and through him God's promised bless- 
ing should be fulfilled to all nations. Yet this child 
Abraham is now to give up as a sacrifice to the Lord ! 
Only that father or mother, who has stood by the 
death-bed of a beloved child, and followed his coffin 
to the grave, can begin to know what a hard trial and 
painful way this was for Abraham. 

And much as we love our children, none of them 
is an Isaac. The hopes we build on them are only 
earthly. And even if we must lay them in the grave, 



SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 199 

we know that in the last Day they will return to us, 
bright and glorious as never before. But upon the life 
of this Isaac hung all the precious promises God gave 
to Abraham. With this son of the promise, if he is 
sacrificed, all the promised blessings are dead, too. 
This is what made Abraham's journey so hard. God 
seems to be taking away all the spiritual good things 
He once gave and promised ; and so through those three 
days this father's love and self-interest is fighting 
against his obedience to God. Verily, no greater temp- 
tation ever came into any heart, than this testing of 
Abraham. 

And yet it was necessary. He must show that at 
God's command he was ready to sacrifice all, absolutely 
all. There dared be nothing upon which this man's 
heart hung, so that he would withhold it from God. Be- 
fore angels and devils and men he was called to give an 
example of the faith which trusts God in spite of the 
hardest trials. He was to show us how much higher 
God's thoughts and ways are than ours, and how we 
must follow them out, though we cannot understand 
them. He was to live out in deed and truth the verse 
which says (Ps. 73, 25) : 

"Whom have I in Heaven but Thee, 

And there is none upon earth that I desire besides Thee. 

My flesh and my heart faileth; 

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever." 

And how does Abraham stand this test? He coun- 
sels not with flesh and blood. He does not talk it over 
with Sarah, whose mother-heart would shrink from such 
faith and obedience. He rises early in the morning, and 
girds himself for the journey. Three sad and weary 
days he travels on, and then as he sees the mount of the 
sacrifice, what emotions must have overwhelmed him. 



200 SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 

Yet he proceeds calmly up that slope. When Isaac asks : 
"My father, behold the fire and the wood : but where 
is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" it must have cut his 
heart like a knife. Yet with more than human patience 
and trust he answers : "My son, God will provide Him- 
self the lamb for a burnt-offering." He himself cannot 
understand, but he can and must obey, assured that all 
will be well in the end, because it is from God. They 
come now to the top of the hill, and Abraham gathers 
the stones for an altar, each one as he carries it to its 
place, heavy as lead with the weight of sorrow wrapped 
up in it. He lays the wood in order, and each stick is 
a new load upon his heart. And now he binds his son, 
lays him upon the wood, and lifts the knife. 

Whence has this man this more than human 
strength for such a sacrifice? Only out of his faith in 
God, which is so strong and unshaken. It is this which 
shines out brightly in his saying to the servants : "Abide 
ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder ; 
and we will worship, and come again to you." He still 
trusts in the mercy of God, and believes that even this 
hard journey will end at last in praise and thanksgiv- 
ing. Therefore it is written (Heb. 11, 17ff ) : "By faith 
Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that 
had gladly received the promises was offering up his 
only begotten son ; even he to whom it was said, In 
Isaac shall thy seed be called : accounting that God is 
able to raise up, even from the dead ; from whence he 
did also in a figure receive him back." But let no one 
say that such faith is easily learned. We too believe 
that God is able to raise up the dead, that Jesus is our 
Resurrection and Life; and yet what sorrows, tears 
and laments, as we stand by the grave ! Before the faith 



SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 201 

of this man Abraham we bow in shame, and do him 
honor with all our heart. 

And we, beloved, are the children of Abraham. We 
too must walk this way. God means to put our faith 
to the test, like Abraham's and as when this heathen 
woman in our Gospel is told : "It is not meet to take 
the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." We too 
are to fear, love and trust Him, as did these noble souls 
Therefore, when anything comes between us and God, 
and lessens the wholesouled love we owe Him, He deals 
with us as with Abraham. If we make too much of 
money and lands, God may take them away ; if we seek 
honors, put us to shame ; if we idolize human beings, 
call them from us. Who of us has not felt something 
of His holy earnestness here ? Which of the disciples of 
our Lord walked not such a way? And has not He a 
right to demand our surrender of these things, even if 
we do not misuse them? He who spared not His only 
Son, but delivered Him up for our redemption, may He 
not ask us to make some sacrifice in turn ? He does this 
for His own sake, that He may not be without witnesses 
of His sovereignty before angels, devils, and men ; and 
for our sakes, that the "proof, or trial of our faith, be- 
ing more precious than gold that perisheth though it is 
proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and 
honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (I. Peter 1, 7) . 

A father stood by the sick bed of a beloved child. 
The little one had gladly learned the Bible stories, and 
so he promised her "a story book about the dear Father 
in Heaven, our blessed Saviour, and the holy angels." 
The little one's eyes opened wide with pleasure, but she 
requested that the book should tell also about Abraham. 
It flashed upon that father, that this was a story of obe- 



202 SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 

dient sacrifice, and he might be called upon to make 
a like one ; and so he tried to change the subject. But 
she insisted that the story of Abraham must be in the 
book. And the time came when he too mastered that 
lesson which his child had first learned and loved, the 
great lesson in Abraham's life, which is learning to say : 
"Thy will be done !" 

If such faith is ours, then the trial of it will end as 
did his. It will bring forth the fruits of righteousness ; 
tribulation will work experience, patience, and hope that 
maketh not ashamed. The Mount of trial will become 
for us also a mount of the Lord's grace and goodness. 
New promises and greater blessings will reward our 
faith, as they did Abraham's. 

But how much more our faith has to rest upon, than 
Abraham's did ! We have for our example and encour- 
agement the Man of Sorrows, who humbled Himself to 
"bear our griefs and carry our sorrows;" the patient 
Lamb of God, who was "obedient even unto death, yea, 
the death of the Cross." We should therefore be able to 
say with Paul : "I can do all things through Christ which 
strengthened me." His atonement on the Cross is a 
well of salvation for us, out of which we may always 
draw the full assurance that God loves us as His dear 
children. Thither let us turn daily, and then we shall 
be able to bear each cross God lays upon us here below 
and to follow God's hard ways patiently and obediently, 
until with Abraham we receive the reward of our faith 
on the Heavenly Mount. 

"His trial o'er, and now beneath 

His own Cross faintly bending, 
Jesus the fatal hill of death 

Is wearily ascending. 



SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 203 



And now, His hands and feet pierced through, 

Upon the Cross they raise Him : 
Where even now, in distant view, 

The eye of faith surveys Him. 

O wondrous Love, which God most high 
Toward man was pleased to cherish! 

His sinless Son He gave to die, 

That sinners might not perish." Amen. 

No. 174, G. C. Book. 



THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT (OCULI). 
Gospel: Luke 11, 14-28. 

Exodus 15, 23-26: And when they came to Marah, they 
could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; 
therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people mur- 
mured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he 
cried unto Jehovah; and Jehovah showed him a tree, and he 
cast it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There 
He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He 
proved them; and He said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the 
voice of Jehovah thy God, and wilt do that which is right in 
His eyes, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and wilt keep 
all His statutes, I wiU put none of the diseases upon thee, which 
I have put upon the Egyptians: for I am Jehovah that healeth 
thee." 

Hymns: 

66. We Sing the praise of Him Who Died. v. 2f. 

61. Sweet the Moments, Rich in Blessing, v. 1. 

62. In the Cross of Christ I Glory, v. 4. 
390. Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken, v. 4. 
518. There Is a Land of Pure Delight, v. 6. 
348. Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go. v. 3f. 

8. Comfort, Comfort Ye, My People. 

368. Thou Art the Way, to Thee Alone, v. 2. 

201. Through the Night of Doubt and Sorrow, v. 2f. 

The Tree of the Cross Sweetens the Bitter 
Waters of Our Troubles. 

A good old Christian writer said : "If any one will 
compare the history of Israel's wanderings in the desert 
with his own life, he will find a wonderful likeness be- 
tween them." We need only remember how Israel was 
"baptized unto Moses," or sprinkled by the spray of the 
Red Sea ; how the Lord went before them, leading the 
way in the pillar of the cloud and of fire ; how He fed 
them with Bread from Heaven ; and at last with many 



THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 205 

"a sign from Heaven" brought them safely into the 
Promised Land. And on the other hand, we need only 
think of how Israel murmured against the Lord ; how 
often and how easily they fell into shameful unbelief 
and disobedience. Verily, it is our own life, which is 
pictured here ; in many a small detail, and not simply 
in the great outlines, there is a resemblance here to us. 

Naturally then, we would expect to find in Israel's 
History that Cross of Christ, which is the soul and 
center of our Christian faith and life. And here it is, 
in many a prophetic word and figure. Let me only re- 
mind you, that when Israel encamped, their camp lay 
about the Tabernacle in the form of a cross. Not only 
in the lamb of sacrifice, and the brazen serpent, but in 
many other ways we find the mystery of the Cross of 
Christ foreshadowed, where we would never think of 
looking for it. 'So in this tree, which sweetened the bit- 
ter waters of Marah, it is plain that we are being pointed 
to the Cross. It speaks first of 

God's Fatherly Heart Toward Us. 

The people of Israel had crossed the Red Sea, where 
their enemies were engulfed, and had now wandered for 
three days in the desert under the blazing sun. They 
find no water. In the Red Sea there had been nothing 
but water, and no land; here there was nothing but 
land, and no water. They forgot how the Lord had 
helped them out of the former dilemma, and how they 
had been healed from their "demon of dumbness," and 
praised Him, saying: 

"Jehovah is my strength, and song, 

And He is become my salvation." (Ex. 15, 2). 

They soon lost patience and heart. At last they 



206 THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 

came to the slope of a hill, where a spring poured forth 
an abundance of water. This spot they afterward 
called Marah. Now they rejoiced and hastened forward 
to satisfy their great thirst. But alas ! They could not 
drink the waters, because they were very bitter. Then 
the people murmured against Moses, saying : What shall 
we drink ? They gave him to understand, that as their 
leader he must find water for them, and it would be his 
fault if they perished. And when he cried unto the 
Lord, the Lord "showed him a tree, and he cast it into 
the waters, and the waters were made sweet." There 
is no tree which in itself can sweeten bitter waters. All 
attempts to find such a tree in that neighborhood have 
failed. "The finger of God" and His Fatherly heart 
must have given it the wonder-working power for this 
occasion. 

Now this Marah is one of the stations on our 
Christian pilgrimage, to which we often come. We need 
not call the world "a vale of tears," yet we will find 
enough that is bitter along life's pathway. There come 
hours and days of bitter trouble for our hearts. 
Whether these come directly by God's Providence, from 
our fellow men, or through our own fault, we will not 
stop to consider now, neither the particular name for 
them. Now it may be a question of food or clothing, 
then some great sorrow of heart caused by the envy and 
enmity of our fellow men ; or sickness, pain, and death. 
We all have experienced some of these things ; and this 
was the bitter water of Marah we could not bear to 
drink. We sighed then with the children of Korah: 
"My tears have been my food day and night," (Ps. 
42, 3) ; or with Jeremiah (9, 15) : "Thus saith Jeho- 
vah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, 



THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 207 

even this people, with wormwood, and give them water 
of gall to drink." 

The children of this world find no comfort amid 
such days. Hardened and indifferent as they are, it 
does not relieve their misery to find company for it. 
They say : "It comes to all ; it is the way of the world ; 
it can't be helped." But what a wretched sort of com- 
fort that is! It only leaves the heart bitter toward 
God, and tempts a man to become a "rum-dub," to seek 
oblivion in the deadly cup of worldly dissipation, or of 
such a mental stupor as Christian Science. Neither 
will it help to reason about it, as many do, and say: 
"I can't see what I ever did to deserve this." That 
only makes the heart the more impatient and discon- 
tented. Borne after this fashion, our troubles bring 
us only a curse, instead of the ultimate blessing God 
intended. 

But the Cross of Christ, like the tree at Marah, 
sweetens our troubles. Under it we learn to know our- 
selves as lost and condemned sinners. That is the 
first lesson taught us by this Man of Sorrows, who 
"was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for 
our iniquities" (53, 5). Only when we know ourselves 
as sinners, will we bow humbly beneath the chasten- 
ing hand of our God, and be no more a "kingdom divid- 
ed against itself." Then we will confess that by our 
sinfulness we have deserved this and more, and that, 

"His strokes are fewer than our crimes, 
And lighter than our guilt." 

Then we will thank Him for not entering into 
judgment with us more severely, and look forward 
hopefully to His exalting those He has brought low, 
and "healing the bones He has broken." 



208 THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 

But the Cross has a still greater comfort for us. 
There we look for the first time right into the Fatherly 
heart of our God. There we begin to realize that great 
saying : "God so loved the world, that He gave His only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should 
not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3, 16). And 
there we learn to trust this "God of mercy, God of 
grace," whose Fatherly heart is revealed to us. The 
message of the Cross is not only that we are sinners, 
but: "If God be for us, who is against us? He that 
spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us 
all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all 
things?" (Rom. 8, 31f). That is the comfort found 
beneath the Cross. He who grasps it in humble faith 
will not despair in his troubles, or seek some silly or 
desperate remedy, but "wait patiently for the Lord." 
So the Cross makes us "patient in tribulation, rejoicing 
in hope, and instant in prayer." The Fatherly heart 
of God in Christ sweetens the bitter waters of our 
troubles. Again our text sets before us 

Christ as Our Example. 

It was an unfortunate thing that Israel did not 
know all about the way from Egypt into the Promised 
Land. They imagined that it led through green pas- 
tures and fruitful fields; and when they found it a 
desert-roadway, they wished themselves back in Egypt 
and lusted for its flesh-pots. This was why they mur- 
mured so often against God and his servant Moses. 
Had they but known the real character of this only 
way into Canaan, they would have trodden it more 
bravely, and been more thankful for every bit of good- 
ness by the way, more patient amid the toils and depri- 
vations of that journey. 



THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 209 

Many Christians make the same mistake about 
the Christian life. They do not learn what it really 
is. The wise Solomon says : 

"A man's heart deviseth his way; 

But Jehovah directeth his steps" (Prov. 16, 9). 

We need only think of the daydreams of youth, or 
the plans the children of this world are always mak- 
ing, to understand what kind of ways the heart of man 
devises. In all this we do not wish to hear much about 
the "narrow way." But Christ says of Himself: "Be- 
hooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to 
enter into His glory?" (John 24, 26). His way led 
"through the Cross to the Crown," and we are to fol- 
low Him. Yet it is through flowery fields we wish 
our way to run. We dream only of joys and pleasures 
on every hand. And then, if the mighty hand of God 
reaches into our life and shifts this scenery, we com- 
plain in our ignorance about our troubles, and rob 
ourselves of God's intended blessings. For Hosea tells 
us (2,14) how God leads His people into the wilderness, 
that He may "speak comfortably to them, or to their 
very hearts, and give them vineyards from thence and 
a door of hope." 

The Cross on Golgotha, like the tree at Marah, 
shows us how to turn suffering into joy. Jesus Christ, 
the Father's First Born, goes before us, so that all 
God's children may walk in His footsteps. "Christ 
also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we 
should follow His steps: who did no sin, neither was 
guile found in his mouth, etc." (I. Peter 2, 21). We 
see how obedient He was under every burden the 
Father laid upon Him, "obedient even unto death;" 
and we learn of Him to say : "Not My will, but Thine 



210 THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 

"be done." In our troubles, laid upon us by our fellow 
men, we should mark how "When He was reviled, He 
reviled not again ; when He suffered, threatened not ; 
but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteous- 
ly" (v. 23). From Him "the Stronger One, who takes 
the Devil's armor from him," we learn meekness and 
patience in all the troubles God or man may lay upon 
us; and thus the example of our Suffering Saviour 
sweetens for us the bitter waters. Since they had a 
place in His life, we know, when we bear them pa- 
tiently, too, that we are "entering in through many trib- 
ulations to the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14, 22). And 
finally our text reminds us of 

The Glory of Our Christian Estate. 

If Israel had not been such a forgetful folk, they 
would not have murmured against God, as they did. 
Behind them lay the House of Bondage, where they 
sighed under the rod of the overseer, made bricks 
without straw, and had their baby boys cast into the 
river. Behind them lay the Red Sea, through which 
God had led them so wonderfully, and in which He 
buried their enemies. Before them waited the Holy 
Land, flowing with milk and honey. There the bones 
of their fathers rested, and at every turn it spoke to 
them of the glorious estate He had promised them. 
There they were to enter into His rest. Had they but 
considered all these things aright, that way with all its 
toils and trials would not have seemed so hard. It 
would have been easy, compared with their hopeless 
bondage and by reason of the promised blessings await- 
ing them in Canaan at its end. This wonder-tree 
which God showed Moses at Marah was a new pledge 



THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 211 

of their glorious estate, which this God of Abraham, 
Isaac and Jacob would soon reveal to His people. 

And beneath the Cross of Christ we, too, learn our 
glorious estate, and see our lives in a higher, Heavenly- 
light. From that Cross we look out into a land of 
promise, rest and Heavenly inheritance, as Moses 
gazed from Mt. Nebo into Canaan. If for our sakes 
the Son of God became a poor child of man ; if He for 
us put on a servant's form and died on the Cross, we 
may be sure this great price was paid to win for us no 
mean estate. He prayed: "Father, I desire that they 
also whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I 
am, that they may behold My glory" (John 17, 24) ; 
and so from the Cross we look up to the Father's House 
on high, where the many mansions are, which the 
great Captain of our Salvation has gone to prepare 
for us. Beneath that Cross I learn how one day, 

"I too with Thee shall walk in white, 

With all Thy saints shall prove 
What is the length, and breadth, and height. 

And depth of perfect love." No. 363 G. C. Book. 

Though here we are often troubled and weep, the 
Cross points us above, where "God shall wipe away 
every tear from their eyes (Rev. 21, 4) ; and death 
shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, 
nor crying, nor pain any more." All the bitterness of 
our life is sweetened by the Saviour's promise : "Blessed 
are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted" 
(Mat. 5, 4) ; and the assurance that "Weeping may 
tarry for the night, but joy cometh in the morning" 
(Ps. 30, 5). 

And our Christian estate is glorious, because even 
now there is this Tree of Life to sweeten our bitter 



212 THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 

waters. We read in the last verse of this chapter, how 
Israel journeyed from Marah to Elim, "where were 
twelve springs of water, and three score and ten palm 
trees ; and they encamped there by the waters." How 
sweet was their rest there in the cool shade and by 
the refreshing waters ! So there come in our Christian 
life hours and days when we say : 

"Jehovah is my shepherd; 

I shall not want. 

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; 

He leadeth me beside still waters," (Ps. 23). 

From Elim they went on through the desert until 
they crossed over Jordan. And so we go through much 
tribulation until we come to the bitterest water of them 
all, the River of Death. Here the Cross alone can take 
away the bitterness of the cup we must drink. This 
One with the pierced hands and side is the only One 
who can comfort us in this "Valley of the Shadow of 
Death." For He brings us safely through it to the 
Heavenly Elim, where all our bitter waters are forever 
past and forgotten. There we shall rest by "the River 
of Water of Life, which proceeds out of the Throne of 
God and of the Lamb; and under the Tree of Life, 
which stands on either side of it with its perfect fruits, 
and its leaves for the healing of the nations" (Rev. 
22, If). 

May God help us in this Holy Passion season to 
look up to the Cross of Christ with believing eyes, and 
to read what is written there in larger letters than 
here at Marah; His Fatherly heart toward us, our 
Saviour's example for us, and the glory of our Chris- 
tian estate. Then when our own Passion seasons and 
times of suffering come, the wonder-tree of His Cross 



THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 213 



shall sweeten our bitter Marahs, for "blessed are they 
who hear the Word of God and keep it" 



"The royal standard forward goes, 
The holy Cross with mystery glows, 
There death by life was put to shame, 
And life from death triumphant came. 

Here from our Saviour's pierced side 
Flows forth the purifying tide, 
That lets no sinful spot remain, 
As blood and water cleanse each stain. 

Fulfilled is now the hope foretold, 
That faithful prophets sang of old; 
When God His wondering people see, 
Ruling all nations from a Tree. 

Haill only source of hope and life; 

In thie sad time of pain and strife, 

To faithful souls Thy grace increase, 

And to the guilty give Thy peace. Amen." 

Hymn No. 91. 
"Faithful Cross! Above all other, 

One and only noble Tree! 
None in foliage, none in blossom, 

None in fruit thy peers may be. 
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron, 

Sweetest weight is hung on thee." 

Passion Hymn of Venantius Fortunatus. 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT (LAETARE). 
Gospel: John 6, 1-15. 

Numb. 17, 1-8: "And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 
Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for 
each father's house * * * twelve rods. Write thou every man's 
name upon his rod. And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon 
the rod of Levi. * * * And Moses laid up the rods before Jeho- 
vah in the tent of the testimony. And it came to pass on the mor- 
row, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, 
the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth 
buds, and produced blossoms, and bare ripe almonds." 

Hymns : 

91. The Royal Standard Forward Goes. v. 1-3. 

62. In the Cross of Christ I Glory. 

409. God Moves in a Mysterious Way. v. 1 and 5. 

44. Join All the Glorious Names, v. 3. 

97. When I survey the wondrous Cross. 

120. See the Conqueror Mounts in Triumph, v. 3. 

The Dry Rod Which Bore Fruit. 

The Cross has been from all antiquity the accursed 
tree. We read in Deut. (21, 23) how the evildoer, 
hanged in Israel, was not to remain all night upon the 
tree, but to be buried the same day, lest the land be 
denied by such a one accursed of God. Paul refers to 
this 0. T. passage when he writes: "Christ redeemed 
us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse 
for us" (Gal. 3, 13). In all the Passion History the 
Cross is still the accursed tree, and we therefore laud 
and magnify the love of Christ, who bore it for us and 
turned it into a blessing. Since that time the Cross has 
come to high honor. It shines among the stars of 
heaven ; one great constellation being named the South- 
ern Cross. It stands on our altars and the spires of 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 215 

our churches. It glitters in the crown of kings, and 
on the breasts of the world's heroes. It stands over 
the graves of those we love and have lost a little while, 
as a confession that only the Cross of Christ can unlock 
for us the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven. In gold 
and silver, marble and bronze, we find it spread through 
all Christendom. The barren tree of shame and curs- 
ing has become the living tree of honor and blessing. 

The Cross has fared like Aaron's dry rod. Once 
Israel despised it, and murmured against Aaron and 
his brother Moses. But when this wonder had been 
wrought, of which our text speaks, Aaron and his rod 
came to honor. It was preserved in the ark with the 
tables of the Law and the pot of manna. Our Saviour 
is often compared in the N\ T. to Aaron, and called the 
true High Priest, because He made the sacrifice which 
atones once for all, intercedes now for us before the 
Throne, and puts His Heavenly benediction upon His 
Church. Therefore we may well compare our Saviour's 
Cross to this rod, which brought forth buds, blossoms 
and fruits. These we will find, first of all, 

In the Great History of the World. 

It was only a dry rod which Moses took, and laid 
with the others before the ark. Yet in it a great won- 
der was wrought, and God "made to cease from Him 
the murmurings of the children of Israel" against 
Moses and Aaron. Its night-blooming flowers and 
fruits so impressed them, that no one dared say to 
Moses and Aaron after this : "Ye have killed the people 
of Jehovah" (16, 40f ) , and there were no more Korah's 
rebellions against Aaron and his sons ; they now stood 



216 FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 

in their office, clad in a God-given authority and dig- 
nity. 

Such a dry rod was the Cross on Golgotha. It was 
no more promising than "the five barley loaves among 
so many." Men shook their heads in dissent, and 
sneered at the idea, that it could make any contribu- 
tion to the History of the World. It promised nothing 
compared with the wisdom of the Greeks, which stood 
among men as a tree in full blossom ; or the glory of 
Israel, whose bulk was like a cedar of Lebanon. This 
dry rod was a barren tree of shame and cursing, and 
therefore was "to the Jews foolishness and to the 
Greek a stumbling-block." What was this carpenter of 
Nazareth to the priest, Pharisee and scribe, compared 
with Abraham, whom the Great God Himself called to 
serve Him in the Holy Land; or Moses, to whom He 
spake face to face, as a man with his friend? And 
when He hung upon the Cross how they despised Him 
and it ! They mocked Him, saying : "He helped others, 
Himself He cannot save." What was this meek and 
lowly villager in the eyes of the Jewish people? They 
saw in Him no beauty, nothing of the might and 
majesty of their long-expected Messiah, and so they 
turned their backs upon Him. When he hung upon 
the Cross they mocked, saying: "If Thou be the King 
of Israel, come down from the Cross, and we will be- 
lieve Thee." Even to His own disciples the Cross was 
a thing of shame. Peter cries at the mention of such 
a thing : "Lord, save Thyself. Be that far from Thee !" 
And when they saw Him die on the Cross, all their 
hopes died and were buried with Him. They lamented, 
saying : "But we hoped that it was He who should re- 
deem Israel" (Luke 24, 21). 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 217 

Yet only by this death on the Cross, despised as it 
was of Israel, could the 53rd of Isaiah be fulfilled : "He 
was despised, and rejected of men ; a man of sorrows, 
and acquainted with grief : and as one from whom men 
hide their faces He was despised." But Isaiah spoke 
of the Christ and His Cross as an Aaron's rod, for that 
goodly fellowship of the prophets also foretold how 
the Cross would bud over night into the Easter Morn- 
ing glory, blossom forth in Christ's Ascension, and 
fill the earth with rich fruits on the day of Pentecost. 

Since then it has been budding and flourishing 
with the eternal power of God. All the might and 
malice of the enemies could not hinder the Cross ; nei- 
ther could all the drought and deadness of the times 
destroy its life. The Church of Jesus Christ, rooted 
in this Cross, still thrives and grows apace today. One 
land and people after another have tried to cast the 
Cross into the shadow, but the shadow of the tower- 
ing Cross fell upon them, and the tree of Grecian wis- 
dom withered, the cedars of Jewish pride fell, but the 
Cross on Golgotha remained, full of fresh, strong, and 
glorious life. As our Lord said, the birds of the air, 
who would once have destroyed this seed and sprout, 
in the end come to dwell amid the shelter of its branches. 
How many Jews flock into Christian lands ; and what 
heathen land could exist today without the protection 
of some strong, flourishing Christian nation. The bla- 
tant infidel never moves among the heathen cannibals, 
but lives in the shadow of the Church. 

And now look at the lovely blossoms. The Word 
of God is the one book of imperishable beauty above all 
others. Thousands and thousands have refreshed 
themselves with it, and will to the end of time. These 



218 FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 

blossoms do not wither and fall to the ground : "Heaven 
and earth shall pass away, but My Word shall not pass 
away." Where do, we not find today the Heavenly blos- 
soms of the Cross? Note in the sky-line of any great 
city among us, how the towers and spires of our 
churches rise high above the dwellings round about 
them. Look at our schools, where useful knowledge 
and Christian virtues are nurtured ; and at our hospi- 
tals and homes, where the work of Christian mercy 
goes on. All these are the blossoms of the Cross of 
Christ. It is still working "miracles on those that were 
diseased." 

And where are its goodly fruits? It is the Cross 
which has taught men true brotherly love ; it proclaims 
Him who in love laid down His life for us, and bids us 
lay down our lives if need be for our brethren. In the 
shadow of that Cross a new commandment was given : 
"That ye love one another, even as I have loved you." 

The Cross is the foundation of the Christian home, 
with all its love and kindness. It has brought into 
the world true education, decent morals, and refined 
manners. And more than this: righteousness, peace, 
and joy, and all that gladdens the heart of man are its 
fruits. Many of the world's good things dry up in sea- 
sons of trial, but the Cross ripens its fruits, whether 
the wind is from the North or the South ; whether the 
sun of good fortune beams upon us or hides behind 
dark clouds of trouble. The Church is always singing 
with Solomon in his Song (4, 16) : 

"Let my Beloved come into His Garden 
And eat His precious fruits." 

And the story is the same, whether the Cross of 
Christ is planted amid the ice-fields of Greenland, or 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 219 

the burning deserts of Africa ; in the primeval forests 
of America, or the lovely isles of the South Sea. Every- 
where it makes the desert blossom like the rose, and 
bears its precious fruits of the spirit : "Love, joy, peace, 
etc." And we find these not only in the great history 
of the world, but as it has blossomed here and brought 
forth its incomparable fruits, so too, 

In the Little Story of the Heart. 

Here, too, the Cross seems at first only the dry rod 
of Aaron. Many a man shakes his head at it, doubts 
the living virtue in it, or even mocks it. Yet here, too, 
it can blossom over night and bear fruit. The dying 
thief experienced this on his cross. When faith sprang 
up in his heart, and blossomed into his penitent peti- 
tion : "Lord, remember me, when Thou comest into Thy 
Kingdom;" its rich fruit soon followed: "Today thou 
shalt be with Me in Paradise." Paul set out on his way 
to bind the Christians at Damascus and bring them to 
the high priests at Jerusalem; the Cross was only a 
dry rod for him as yet. But as he lay there on his 
face in the Light which streamed from Heaven, the 
Cross began to bud and bear fruit in his heart, too, 
until it made of him the great missionary to the Gen- 
tiles. And this change many thousands of poor sin- 
ners, and surely many among us, have experienced to 
our joy and the glory of God. 

The Cross still buds in the heart; without that 
Cross of Christ there would be no spiritual life in us, 
and we would be dry, dead, and bear no fruit. We can- 
not resist sin in our own strength. Here and there we 
may succeed, when that victory over sin brings us some 
present advantage. But when sin promises us speedy 



220 FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 

pleasure, honor, or advantage ; and to resist it threat- 
ens us with pain, shame and loss, how miserably we 
often fall before it. The Cross of Christ alone can 
give us strength to conquer our own weak hearts, and 
order them aright. 

Again we can do no good in our own strength. 
Our Lord warned us : "Without Me ye can do nothing." 
Here and there the natural man may perform an occa- 
sional good work. The motive power for it is often 
some selfish, false, or even crooked one, and seldom is 
it done in true, brotherly love. We soon become weary 
of well-doing, backslide from the Church, drop out of 
its busy societies, and drift with the world, which 
looks out for Number One. And as for that greatest 
good work of our life, loving our God with all our 
heart, that we can never do of ourselves. Only the 
Cross, rooted in our hearts with all its living strength, 
can reach all our members and dedicate them to Him 
and His service. 

And the Cross must still blossom in our hearts, if 
life is to be bright and beautiful for us. An honored 
title, fine education, worldly wisdom, and social grace 
may seem the chief adornment men and women should 
seek, but these often deceive and disappoint us. Look 
at some of our poor, plain Christian friends, without 
this thin varnish of worldly excellence, and what a 
world of beauty there is in their lives. There is solid 
oak with polished grain, infinitely superior to the 
cheap veneer worldly advantages produce. A real dif- 
ference exists between those who despise the Cross of 
Christ, and those who believe in Him with all their 
hearts. Their very faces are different, the words they 
speak, and the works they do. Their homes and the 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 221 

whole way of life lie far apart. Worldly culture and 
outward refinement cannot compete with that "inner 
man adorned with a meek and quiet spirit, which in 
the sight of God is of great price." Tom Paine, the 
educated and cultured infidel, lived in Lancaster, Penn- 
sylvania, long enough to disgust his one-time admirers, 
so that one of them crowded him off the pavement, and 
flung him headlong in the muddy street. Where the 
Cross is not, there is a disgusting coarseness in the 
heart, though it may not always show on the surface ; 
but where the Cross is, we forget that the clothes are 
shabby, the homely face becomes handsome, and simple 
words and works are ennobled. We have all felt this 
uplift of Christian character, and the hollowness of 
fleshly beauty or worldly accomplishments without it, 
It is the fulfillment of God's promise to His people 
(Hos. 14, 5-7) : "I will be as the dew unto Israel; he 
shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as 
Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty 
shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell (fragrance) as 
Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall re- 
turn ; they shall revive as the grain, and blossom as the 
vine ; the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon." 

And now what is to be said about the fruits of 
the Cross in the hearts of poor sinners? Where does 
the Christian learn obedience to his God but beneath 
the Cross of Him who "was obedient even unto death, 
yea, the death of the Cross ;" submission to his rulers 
unworthy as they are at times, but of Him who let 
Himself be "led as a lamb to the slaughter by His god- 
less overlords; brotherly love and thorough unselfish- 
ness, but of Him who laid down His life for the breth- 
ren, and prayed even for His enemies : "Father, forgive 



222 FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 

them, they know not what they do;" strictness with 
himself in resisting sin and striving after righteous- 
ness of life, but when he accompanies his Saviour on 
the Way of the Cross, and hears Him say : "Weep not 
for Me, but for yourself and for your children." Where 
shall we learn diligence in our calling, but from Him 
who "worked while it was day," and even on the Cross 
ceased not to seek the lost ; where patience under suf- 
fering, but from Him who says : "If any man will come 
after Me, let him take up his Cross and follow Me;" 
where joy in the hour of death, but from His: "Father, 
into Thy hands I commend My spirit." And what ever 
other peaceable and precious fruits of righteousness 
you can name, they are all fruits which the Cross brings 
forth in heart and life. 

Therefore let the unbelieving and indifferent pay 
due reverence to the Cross of Christ. That dry rod has 
become a Tree of Life. It is the sign and proof that 
"This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into 
the world," and that God has set His Son over the 
world as its High Priest. When unbelieving Israel saw 
that wonder of Aaron's rod, they cried: "Behold, we 
perish, we are undone * * * every one that cometh 
near unto the tabernacle of Jehovah dieth." A whole- 
some fear filled their hearts. Would that we all felt 
that fear before the Cross of Christ, and realized our 
need of such a High Priest, whose authority is 
Divine. Then the blessings and fruits of the Cross 
would soon find their way into our hearts ; for where 
ever it strikes root, there it buds, blossoms, and bears 
its blessed fruits. May we all gain a greater measure 
of them, as in these days we tarry beneath the Cross 
of Christ. Amen. 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT (JUDICA). 

Passion Sunday. 

Gospel: John 8, 46-59. 

Numb. 21, 4-10: "And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the 
way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul 
of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the 
people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye 
brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness ? For there is 
no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loatheth this light 
bread. And Jehovah sent fiery serpents among the people, and 
they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. * * * And 
Jehovah said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it 
upon a standard : and it shall come to pass that every one that is 
bitten, when he seeth it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent 
of brass, and set it upon a standard; and it came to pass, that 
if the serpent had bitten any man, when he looked upon the ser- 
pent of brass, he lived. And the children of Israel journeyed, and 
encamped in Oboth." 

Hymns : 

360. My Faith Looks Up to Thee,. 

97. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, v. If. 

339. Not All the Blood of Beasts. 

368. Thou Art the Way; to Thee Alone, v. If. 

74. Jesus, Meek and Lowly, v. 3-6. 

155. Enter, Lord, Thy Temple, v. If. 

The Brazen Serpent and the Tree of Our 
Redemption. 

There stand in Sacred History and Prophecy 
three trees, toward which the children of men are ever 
gazing. The first is that Tree of the knowledge of 
good and evil, which stood in the Garden of Eden. 
When our first parents disobeyed God and ate of it, 
sin and death came into the world. As our eyes rest 
upon it we realize our guilt and misery as sinners; 



224 FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 

we beat upon our breasts and say with the publican : 
"God be merciful to me, a sinner." 

The second is that tree by the River of the Water 
of Life, which flows from the Throne of God and the 
Lamb. Toward it we journey on, until beneath its 
fruitful branches we reach the goal of our faith and 
hope. Thither our eyes must ever turn, lest we forget 
our "inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that 
fadeth not away in Heaven." 

And the last of these three trees is this one on 
which our eyes are fixed in the Holy Lenten Season: 
the barren tree of shame and the curse, which never- 
theless has borne blessed fruit. It speaks to us of our 
redemption from sin and guilt unto the Heavenly hope. 
It bridges the way for us, as when the pioneers fell a 
tree across some stream, from the Tree in the Garden 
to the Tree of Life. We will let it speak to us first of 

Our Need of Redemption. 

Israel had reached the border of the promised 
Land, and had been obliged to turn back again to the 
Red Sea. They were provoked at this, and at the 
long desert stretches and hardships of the way. They 
missed the flesh-pots of Egypt, and murmured against 
God and Moses, complaining even about the wonder- 
bread showered upon them from Heaven. They were 
as hateful as those in our Gospel, who said to our sin- 
less Master : "Thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil." 
Therefore the Lord sent among them fiery serpents, 
whose bite left a burning wound. 

The 0. T. teaches us in simple object lessons what 
the N. T. sums up in elaborate doctrines. In this great 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 225 

sin of Israel our own sinful estate is set before our 
eyes. Already in Noah's day the faithful God mourned 
over man, so deaf to His voice: "My Spirit shall not 
strive with man for ever" (Gen. 6, 3). Jehovah saw: 
"That every imagination of the thoughts of his heart 
was only evil continually" (v. 5). And man has not 
changed much since that day. It was about a thousand 
years later that He was grieved with this generation 
in the wilderness, and said: "They do always err in 
their hearts, and have not known My ways. So I sware 
in My wrath, They shall not enter into My rest." And 
so He must still mourn over men today, unless His 
grace has created a new heart and renewed a right 
spirit within them. 

We need only look at the ways we used to walk, or 
even at the sins which still beset us, to know our guilt 
and ruin. We, too, like Israel, have been stiff-necked 
and stubborn. We demand that not only our fellow 
men, but even our God shape things to suit and please 
us. The evil lusts of the flesh and the world are so 
thoroughly rooted in our members, that we have our 
hands full to "keep our body under." We are ungrate- 
ful to the gracious and faithful God, whose blessings 
are showered upon us daily and abundantly. We for- 
get to thank Him for His great salvation, and to ren- 
der Him the glory due unto His name. And when He 
leads us into darker days, we are often provoked and 
murmur just like this Israel. We, too, doubt his ability 
to help us, or His willingness to do so, and thus we fall 
into little faith or utter unbelief. We, too, neglect and 
despise His Word and Sacrament, the precious gifts of 
His grace meant to refresh us in this vale of sorrows, 
and our very attitude toward these says with Israel: 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 



"Our soul loatheth this light bread." Not one of us can 
say with the Christ: "Which of you convicteth Me of 



By nature we are all afflicted with three spirit- 
ual diseases: hardening of the brain, so that the nat- 
ural man comprehendeth not the things of the spirit; 
enlargement of the heart, but always on the side to- 
ward the world ; and paralysis of hand and foot, when 
we! are to serve any one but old Self. This is the ruin, 
which the Fall brought to us all. And the judgment 
of God follows it now, as there in the Garden and here 
in the wilderness. Our lives are so often labor and 
sorrow, and our consciences troubled by the fear of 
a holy and righteous God. Blind to the things of God, 
and prone to evil as the sparks fly upward, we bear 
about with us the wounds of the Old Serpent, the great 
enemy of God and man. Our whole race is such a sick, 
sore body, as Isaiah (1, 6) says: "From the sole of 
the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it ; 
but wounds, and bruises, and fresh stripes : they have 
not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified 
with oil." And worst of all, "death has come into the 
world by sin, and passed upon all men, in that all have 
sinned." In this misery we can help neither ourselves 
nor our fellow men. Such is man's great need of re- 
demption, that 

"None of them can by any means redeem his brother, 
Nor give to God a ransom for him." (Ps. 49, 7). 

The Fact of Our Redemption. 

Thank God we may also speak of this. Moses in- 
terceded for poor Israel there in the desert, when they 
said : "We have sinned because we have spoken against 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 227 

Jehovah and against thee ; pray unto Jehovah, that He 
take away the serpents from us." And then came the 
command to set up the Brazen Serpent, and "look unto 
it and live." "And Moses lifted up the serpent in the 
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 
that whosoever believeth may in Him have eternal life" 
(John 3, 14f ) . That gracious token in the wilderness 
was a type of the Crucified Saviour, the shadow which 
this coming event cast before itself. 

The Brazen Serpent stood for sin, since this was 
the form our old Enemy took, when he deceived 
Mother Eve. The Apocrypha says (Ecc. 21, 2) : "Flee 
from sin as from the face of a serpent: for if thou 
comest too near it, it will bite thee." We wonder that 
the Brazen Serpent, which was a reminder of the peo- 
ple's sin, could be a type of the Holy Son of God, who 
could say boldly to His bitter enemies : "Which of you 
convicteth Me of sin?" Yet our Lord claimed it, and 
declared it, pointed to His death on the Cross, where 
"He, who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we 
might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 

The Brazen Serpent, however, was not fiery or 
poisonous, but only resembled such outwardly. So our 
Lord was "made like us in all things, only without sin." 
He who was holy, harmless, and undefiled, took our 
sins upon Him, with all their curse and punishment. 
The Apostle writes (Gal. 3, 13) : "Christ redeemed us 
from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for 
us." 

Again the serpent was of brass, the common and 
useful metal, and not of ornamental gold or silver. So 
our Saviour came not in selfish pomp and pride, but 



228 FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 

"meek and lowly, and having salvation." It was lifted 
up on a pole, as a sign of healing and help for each dying 
soul who looked upon it. And He was lifted up upon 
the Tree of Life, "that whosoever believeth may in 
Him have eternal life." 

This is the great and holy fact of our redemption : 
Jesus Christ is the true and eternal High Priest, who 
made for us the one and only sacrifice which is always 
a sweet smelling savor before God. He is the Passover 
Lamb, whose blood redeems our life from destruction, 
and frees us from the bondage of sin. That He was 
"wounded for our transgressions," is the shining fact 
held up before us, like the Brazen Serpent, in every 
faithful preaching of the Gospel, and rightly adminis- 
tered Sacrament. But, lest we deceive ourselves, there 
is also 

The Condition of Our Redemption. 

God did not say at once to Moses: "Make thee a 
serpent of brass, etc." This was conditioned upon 
Israel's confession and Moses' intercession. The chil- 
dren of Israel did not deny the ruin their sin had 
brought upon them, nor the judgment of God upon it. 
They saw parent, spouse, and child bitten by those 
fiery serpents, and dying before their very eyes. On 
every hand were groans and laments, wounds and 
death. The serpents glided among them: they felt 
their fiery bite, and the poison of death at work in their 
veins. Then they confessed that they had sinned griev- 
ously against the Lord, and they humbly asked their 
much abused Moses to pray for them. And when he 
had made the Brazen Serpent, and set it on a pole, they 
delayed not to gather about it and gaze up to it in 
faith. 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 229 

Here we have the simple condition, without which 
we cannot be saved from our sins. We, too, must first 
feel and confess our sin and misery, and not in that 
vague and empty way men have of saying: "We are 
all sinners." Each of us must recognize the ruin sin 
has wrought in his own heart and life, and how much 
it has blasted there, that might have been good fruit. 
We must learn to say with Ezra (9, 6) : "0 my God, I 
am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to Thee, my 
God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, 
and our guiltiness has grown up unto the heavens." 
We must learn like the publican, to beat upon our 
breast and say: "God, be Thou merciful to me, a sin- 
ner." Then we are fulfilling the condition, and will be 
allowed to take hold of this Tree of Life, and shake 
down its precious fruit into our hearts and lives. 

But this is not all ; our faith must not be a still- 
born child, or even a sickly one, if God is to take pleas- 
ure in it. We must speak with firm, full confidence of 
Him on the Cross, who was made unto us wisdom from 
God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemp- 
tion" (I. Cor. 1, 30). The world may pick flaws in 
Him; the unbelieving reject His Gospel and Church. 
They may question His Divinity, sinless life, and mira- 
cles ; try to snatch the crown from His head, and tear 
from Him the purple robe of Divine Majesty. But this 
should never disturb our faith, and lead us astray. 
"He that is of God heareth God's words;" and "If a 
man keep my sayings he shall never see the death," 
toward which these are hastening. We will still keep 
our eyes fixed on this Man of Sorrows, and have no 
other refuge or hope. We will declare boldly : 



230 FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 

* e 

"Myself I cannot save, 

Myself I cannot keep; 
My only help from Him I bring 

Whose eyelids cannot sleep." 

For all our virtues and good works, all outwardly- 
decent life cannot deliver us from the hand of "our 
God who is a consuming fire," and who says : "Cursed 
is every one who continueth not in all things that are 
written in the book of the Law, to do them" (Gal. 
3, 10). He who imagines he can keep this Law with 
all its wealth and depth of spiritual meaning, has never 
looked into his own heart aright, as "God searcheth 
the heart and trieth the reins." So nothing is left for 
us, but an honest and whole-souled repentance and 
faith, which means seeing ourselves and our Saviour 
in the light that streams from Heaven upon the Brazen 
Serpent and the Holy Cross. And if we fulfill this 
condition of repentance and faith, we shall also taste 

The Fruits of Redemption. 

Of these, too, we hear in this story. We read that, 
"If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto 
the serpent of brass, he lived." The burning wound 
was healed; the pain ceased; the fever no longer 
raged in his veins. He was delivered from death; he 
felt health and strength, and life in his members. There- 
fore the 10th verse tells us how "the children of Israel 
journeyed, and encamped in Oboth," continuing their 
journey into the promised land. 

And so it is with us, as we look up in faith to the 
Crucified Saviour. All the guilt and pain of that sick- 
ness of sin in our hearts is healed. We feel our sins 
are forgiven; and justification and peace flowing into 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 231 

our troubled souls. Then we can cry with David (Ps. 
103): 

"Bless Jehovah, my soul; 
And all that is within me, bless His holy name. 
Bless Jehovah, O my soul, 
And forget not all His benefits; 
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; 
Who healeth all thy diseases; 
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; 
Who crowneth thee with loving kindness and 
tender mercies." 

The fever and delirium of sin is broken ; its phan- 
tasies have no longer power to deceive us. We hate the 
sins that once we loved; for we know that: "Christ 
gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from 
all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a people for His 
own possession, zealous of good works" (I. Titus 2, 14) . 
We live under Him in His Kingdom in everlasting 
righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. We watch 
and pray, keeping ourselves from all presumptious and 
deliberate sins. And if we are overtaken in a fault, 
and fall through weakness, we do not wallow in the 
mire, but struggle penitently out of it, to walk more 
circumspectly in the future. 

To this our faith impels us, for we dare not make 
our Saviour a convenience unto sin, or a soft pillow for 
an evil conscience. To this our love drives us, for we 
would not distress Him by receiving His grace in vain. 
To this our hope draws us, for we would not trifle with 
our eternal salvation, and run the risk of losing it. 

Thus we taste of the fruits of our redemption, as 
our Saviour works in us to will and do after His good 
pleasure. In His strength we go forward in our pil- 
grimage, and the fruits of the Spirit hang invitingly by 
the wayside: "Love, joy, peace, etc." And now these 



232 FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 

heralds of death: sickness, loss, and sorrow, are no 
longer God's angry judgments upon us, but meet and 
greet us on the way as His Fatherly chastening and 
loving correction, beneath which we bow humbly and 
trustingly. We know they will "bring forth the peace- 
able fruits of righteousness in them that are exercised 
thereby." When we walk the Valley of the Shadow, we 
lean by faith upon His almighty arm, who has "abol- 
ished death and brought life and immortality to light." 
And when we join the throng about His Throne on 
high, and mingle our voices in the song of Moses and 
the Lamb, then this Gospel of the Cross shall have 
brought forth its last and perfect fruits in our lives. 
We too, like Abraham, shall see His Day, and be glad." 
Amen. 



PALM SUNDAY. 

Sixth Sunday in Lent. 
Gospel : Matthew 21, 1-9. 

II. Sam. 15, 23-30: "And all the country wept with a loud 
voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself 
passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over 
toward the way of the wilderness, etc." 

Hymns : 

90. Glory Be to Jesus, v. 4. 

96. My Lord, my Master, at Thy Feet Adoring, v. 3. 

545. Hosanna! Loud Hosanna! v. 4. 

87. Jesus! Exalted Far on High. v. 4f. 

390. Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken, v. 1. 

388. O What, if We Are Christ's, v. 1. 

82. Art Thou Weary, Art Thou Languid? 

53. Behold, Where in a Mortal Form. v. 5. 

Crossing the Kidron. 

The prophet Zechariah (9, 9) looks far out into 
the future as he cries : "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of 
Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy 
King cometh unto thee ; He is just, and having salva- 
tion; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt 
the foal of an ass." All this came to pass, when our 
Saviour entered Jerusalem and walked for us the way 
of the Cross and of death. This last Lenten Gospel 
describes this scene, and shows us our King in all His 
meekness and love. This is the King of whom Jere- 
miah prophesied (23, 5) as the "Righteous Branch 
raised up unto David," "and He shall reign as King, and 
deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteous- 
ness in the land." This is the King whose birth Gabriel 
announced to Mary (Luke 1, 32), who is to be called 



234 PALM SUNDAY 



"The Son of the Most High : and the Lord God shall give 
unto Him the throne of His father David : and He shall 
reign over the house of Jacob for ever ; and of His King- 
dom there shall be no end." The Wise Men recognized 
Him, and did Him reverence as such, even as they had 
asked: "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" 
Even in His humiliation He is a King; yea, in His 
Passion and Death He is more than ever a King. "He 
humbled Himself and became obedient even unto death 
* * * wherefore God hath also highly exalted Him, 
and given Him a Name that is above every name, etc." 
(Phil. 2). 

It is to this King with the Crown of Thorns, this 
King of kings, that we cry: "Hosanna to the Son of 
David! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the 
Lord !" The service we now attend, the hymns we sing 
the prayers which rise from our hearts are all the 
homage we bring to our King. 

Our text shows us another king, David, as he 
leaves Jerusalem, and goes weeping up the slope of Mt. 
Olivet (v. 30). David's journey in those days was a 
living picture and promise of the way of sorrow our 
Saviour would walk. He, too, was to cross the Cedron 
(N. T. form), like His royal ancestor. We will con- 
sider today, first, 

The Two Kings Who Walk This Way. 

No name in either Testament is so commonly and 
closely joined to that of our Lord and Saviour, as that 
of David. The angel Gabriel says : "The Lord God will 
give unto Him the throne of His father David." The 
glad tidings to the shepherds ran, "Unto you is born 
this day in the city of David a Saviour, etc." In the 



PALM SUNDAY 235 



family tree of our Lord (Mat. 1 and Luke 3) He is 
shown to be a descendant of David. Therefore the 
sick and afflicted, when they cry to Him, call Him: 
"Thou Son of David." And when for the last time He 
entered into Jerusalem, the multitudes cried: "Ho- 
sanna to the Son of David." He himself never refused 
this title, as He did that of "Good Master." Moreover, 
long after David was dead, God spake of the Christ to 
come, through Hosea and Ezekiel under the title of 
"My servant David." 

If we compare their lives we will find some strik- 
ing coincidences. Both were born in Bethlehem, and 
were of the same house. David kept the flocks of his 
father Jesse, and defended them from the wild beasts. 
Our Saviour calls Himself the Good Shepherd, who 
lays down his life for the sheep. David was early 
called to the throne of Israel, yet he waited many a 
year, unknown to the people, until he sat upon it. So 
for thirty years our Lord was hidden from the people 
He was to rule over, and all that we know of Him is 
that "He increased in wisdom and stature and in favor 
with God and man." David met the giant Goliath as 
the champion of his people; and Christ faced the 
Prince of Darkness for us all in the wilderness. David 
had at first only a small part of Israel for His follow- 
ing, and bore much opposition and persecution. But 
at last his humiliation ended, and he ruled over all 
Israel and many other lands. So our Lord was fol- 
lowed at first by only a few good men and women, and 
must still suffer many things from His enemies. But 
He, too, will rule at last in great might and glory, over 
all the kingdoms of the world. 

This David was much more than the ancestor and 



236 PALM SUNDAY 



prophet of the Christ. He is a type of the Christ, which 
gives to all his life, and what he wrote in the Psalms, a 
holy, hidden meaning. Therefore, we look for some- 
thing more in this account of how David "crossed the 
Kidron, and went up by the ascent of the Mount of 
Olives, and wept as He went up." And we find it in 
our Lord's Passion History lesson, which says: "He 
went forth with His disciples over the brook Kidron, 
where was a garden into which He entered." This 
crossing of the brook leads the Christ to Gethsemare, 
and His capture, the Cross and His death. And this 
way, both kings walked becomes more noteworthy as 
we consider 

The Sorrow Which Burdens Them. 

It was the same in its cause, the way they bore it, 
and its outcome. David sorrows because his ungrate- 
ful people have rebelled against him, in spite of his wise, 
just and glorious reign. His own son, Absalom, was 
the leader in that rising, and it was this which bowed 
the poor king so low. He might have put down the 
insurrection by force, and hacked the rebels to pieces. 
But no! For him it^ is a judgment of God. He bows 
beneath it humbly; he takes the guilt of that wicked 
son and this foolish people upon himself; he leaves 
the city, that no misfortune may fall upon it, but only 
upon his own head. He remembers "the sins of his 
youth and his many transgressions." 

Yet in another sense he is entirely innocent. The 
people are not now rising against David, hating and 
persecuting him, for any sin of his. They would have 
stood by him faithfully enough as king, if he had only 
let them enjoy themselves and do as they pleased, under 



PALM SUNDAY 237 



his scepter. It was his holy earnestness against sin, 
his firm resolve to be a king after God's own heart, 
which displeased them and enabled Absalom to stir up 
his rebellion. David suffered beneath the unjust judg- 
ment of an unrighteous people, because he was the 
king anointed of God and ruling in righteousness. 

How much resemblance there is in this to the sor- 
row of our King with the crown of thorns! His own 
people rose against Him, saying: "We will not that 
this man reign over us" (Luke 19, 14). When Pilate 
asked, "Shall I crucify your king?" the chief priests 
answered: "We have no king but Caesar." And as 
Israel preferred the murderer (II. Sam. 13, 30f ) Absa- 
lom, so this people chose Barabbas. Moreover, David 
was betrayed by his own son, and Jesus by His own 
disciple. He, too, might have taken vengeance on His 
enemies by a single command, for which more than 
twelve legions of angels waited by His side. But, like 
David, He bows His head beneath a judgment of God 
against His Anointed, and bears the misery caused by 
the sinning of others. For this reason it is written: 
"Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our 
sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of 
God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our trans- 
gressions. He was bruised for our iniquities ; the chas- 
tisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His 
stripes we are healed" (Is. 53, 4f). 

When David bears his sorrow he relies solely upon 
God. The high priests, Zadok and Abiathar, follow 
him with the ark; but he bids them return with it 
to Jerusalem, until it shall please the Lord to bring 
him back to his palace and the Temple. David does 
not rely upon the strength of his own arm, or his wis- 



PALM SUNDAY 



dom and eloquence; not upon human friends, or even 
upon the ark in a superstitious way; but alone upon 
the Lord God. If He is not with David, then even the 
ark of the covenant cannot help him. And if God be 
with him, then David does not need this outward sign 
of His presence. 

The same reliance upon God we see in our Lord, as 
He crosses the Kidron into Gethsemane. He has left 
behind the disciples, except the three He lovest best. And 
now He separates Himself even from these, as He 
wrestles and prays. He bears His sorrow, though even 
unto death, without human help. When the enemy 
finds and surrounds Him He surrenders Himself calmly 
to them, asking only that "these may go their way." 
He treads the winepress of the wrath of God alone, 
relying for help and comfort upon His Father in 
Heaven. 

Mark also how humbly David behaves as he crosses 
the Kidron. He bows his head in sorrow for his own 
past sins, and the present sin of his people. He goes 
barefooted and weeping up the slope of Olivet. It is 
with a like, but greater humility, that our Saviour casts 
Himself upon the ground, with His face in the dust of 
Gethsemane, and offers up "prayers and supplications 
with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able 
to save Him from death (Heb. 5, 7)." His face, too, is 
covered, as He stands before Pilate, so that nothing 
of His glory and goodliness appears, and Pilate only 
cries in contempt : "Behold the man !" And on the Cross 
so little of His Divinity appears, that they wag their 
heads and mock Him, as one "rejected of men and de- 
spised by the people." 



PALM SUNDAY 239 



Notice, too, the meekness of David. When he 
crosses the Kidron, Shimei comes out, of the family of 
David's old rival, Saul, and curses David, and casts 
stones at him: "Begone, begone, thou man of blood 
and of Belial (base fellow). Jehovah hath returned 
upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose 
stead thou hast reigned * * * thou art taken in thine 
own mischief, because thou art a man of blood" (II. 
Sam. 16, 6). Abishai, one of David's captains, cries 
out: "Why should this dead dog curse my lord, the 
king? Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his 
head." But David only answers: "Jehovah hath said 
unto him, Curse David. * * * Let him alone and let 
him curse." It is in the same meekness, only more true 
and great, that our Saviour heals the ear of Malchus, 
a servant of the High Priest, sent to take Him captive ; 
and prays for his enemies on the Cross : "Father, for- 
give them, for they know not what they do !" So He, 
too, crosses the Kidron. 

In all his sorrow David trusts and confides in the 
Lord, as the three Psalms testify, written when he fled 
from Absalom. He mourns because so many rise up 
against him, and yet can add : 

"But Thou, O Jehovah, art a shield about me; 

My glory, and the lifter up of my head. 

I cry unto Jehovah with my voice, 

And He answereth me out of His holy hill." (3, 3f.) 

Our Lord breathes the same confident spirit, as 
He comforts Himself (Luke 23, 46) with the very 
words of David : "Into Thy hand I commend my spirit" 
(31, 5). These two cross-bearers are so mingled to- 
gether in many of the Psalms, that we scarcely know 
whether David speaks of himself or prophesies of the 
Christ. 



240 PALM SUNDAY 



And the outcome of their sorrow is the same. 
David's enemies are put to shame. He reigns more 
gloriously than ever, and labors as never before for the 
Kingdom of God. And our Saviour triumphs over sin, 
death, and grave, and rising enters into His glory even 
as He said : "Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these 
things, and to enter into His glory?" (Luke 24, 26). 
The city and name of David, with David's psalms and 
life shine now in the glory which streams from his 
greater Son. But we must also glance at 

The People Who Folloiv These Kings. 

There were faithful ones who walked with David 
his way of sorrow. They had shared his good days, 
and refused to desert him now in his evil ones. And 
there was at least one whom David had not expected 
to follow him. Ittai, the Gittite, a stranger and exile 
from his own country had only come a few days before 
to David's court, and now sets out with him upon a 
second exile with all its uncertain wanderings (15, 
19f). David would have sent him back; and is so 
affected by his faithful affection that he prays mercy 
and truth may be with him. But Ittai answers: "As 
Jehovah liveth * * * surely in what place the king 
shall be, whether for death or for life, even there also 
will thy servant be." And many others went with 
David across the Kidron, and wept with him. 

And this King with the Crown of Thorns is not with- 
out His following in the Way of His Passion. You 
remember the good women who mourned and lamented 
Him on His way to the Cross, until He turned and said : 
"Ye daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but for 
yourselves and your children" (Luke 23, 28). His 



PALM SUNDAY 241 



mother, and the beloved disciple John, and the women 
who followed Him out of Galilee, tarried by His Cross 
until He died. Yea, on that Via Dolorosa many an- 
other Ittai turned to Him in unexpected love! Simon 
of Cyrene, bore the Cross for Him when He no longer 
could. The thief at His right hand prayed : "Lord, re- 
member me, when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom." And 
the very centurion beneath His cross exclaimed: 
"Truly this Man was the Son of God !" 

And that little group has been growing through 
the centuries, until no one can count the multitude, who 
in this Lenten season cross the Kidron with Him, and 
worship in thankful love beneath His Cross. In these 
holy days many another heart turns to Him, which 
was indifferent and careless before. Who knows how 
many, who worship with us during this Holy Week, 
will be drawn more closely to their crucified Master; 
and surely many of our youths and maidens, who now 
make their public confession of their Saviour, will be- 
come truly His, and serve Him with a godly life even 
unto the end. To that happy consummation may the 
Lord bless His Word today, that with Ittai, the Gittite, 
we all may say: "Surely in what place our King shall 
be, whether for death or for life, even there also will 
Thy servant be !" David may be said to belong to the 
multitude which "went before Him" in the Way of His 
Passion ; but may each of us be gathered into the mul- 
titude which "follows after Him" in His holy footsteps. 
May we bear with Him the Cross, until with Him we 
wear the Crown above. Amen. 



EASTER DAY. 

The Resurrection of Our Lord. 

Gospel: Mark 16, 1-8. 

Ps. 118, 22-25: 

"The stone which the builders rejected 

Is become the head of the corner. 

This is Jehovah's doing; 

It is marvelous in our eyes. 

This is the day which Jehovah hath made; 

We will rejoice and be glad in it. 

Save now, we beseech Thee, Jehovah: 

O Jehovah we beseech Thee, send now prosperity." 

Hymns: 

443. This Is the Day the Lord Hath Made. 

442. This Is the Day of Light, v. 4. 

440. This Day the Light of Heavenly Birth, v. 2. 

108. Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain. 

119. Welcome. Thou Victor in the Strife, v. 2. 

114. Christ, the Lord, is Risen Again, v. 5. 

118. Welcome, Happy Morning, v. 4. 

331. My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less. 

Easter, the Day Which the Lord Hath Made. 

It is the evening of the Easter Day. The disci- 
ples are assembled together. They have heard the 
wonderful message of the women, that their Lord is 
risen from the dead. Peter and John have visited the 
cave where He was buried, and found it empty. But 
they had not seen the angel, or the Lord Himself ; and 
so they did not yet believe. The Easter wonder seemed 
to them an idle tale; therefore they sit there quietly 
and in deep sadness. The doors are shut for fear of 
the Jews. Then came Jesus among them, the living 
Jesus, and said: "Peace be with you!" And when He 



EASTER DAY 243 



had so said, He showed them His hands and His side. 
Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. 
Then the Easter sun rose for them at last, and their 
hearts were filled with holy Easter joy. And in that 
joy they preached the Gospel of the Crucified and Risen 
Saviour in the streets of Jerusalem, unhindered by 
the threats and scourging of the Chief Council. In 
that joy they went out among the heathen, like sheep 
among wolves. And in that joy they laid down their 
lives at last for their beloved Lord and Master. 

It is this joy which finds utterance in our Easter 
Hymns. We, too, have heard the message, and have 
assembled in the House of God to keep this Day, which 
is the weekly celebration of our Lord's Rising. The 
church doors are closed ; and perhaps many a heart also 
is closed by earthly cares or doubts. Would that we, 
too, might see the Risen One in our midst, and hear 
His greeting of peace; that He would show us His 
pierced hands and sides. Would that one of those 
bright messengers of the Most High, who convinced 
the women He was risen, might speak to us. Then we 
would cry out with Peter in his Epistle (I, 1, 3) : 
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who according to His great mercy begot us 
again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ from the dead, etc." And then we can join 
with all our heart in this Psalm which shows us how 
to keep a blessed Easter, first 

When We Believe the Easter Wonder. 

That "stone, rejected of the builders, and yet set 
in the place of honor in the end," was a description of 
God's people Israel. They were only a poor little peo- 
ple, despised by the proud and mighty nations of earth. 



244 EASTER DAY 



How insignificant they appeared as they languished in 
their Egyptian house of bondage; and again as they 
sat by the rivers of Babylon and wept in their later 
captivity. And yet they are the corner-stone in the 
World's History. To this people before all others did 
God reveal Himself ; and in their midst stood the Tem- 
ple of the only true God. All hope of salvation comes 
to us through this people. Our modern law is based on 
the Ten Commandments, given to them amid the thun- 
der and lightning of Sinai. The Psalms we love were 
the hymns they used to sing. What their prophets 
foretold is dear to us, and the writers of the New Testa- 
ment were nearly all from their race. Even our Lord 
and Saviour after the flesh was one of them. Israel, 
rejected by human builders, was nevertheless God's 
corner-stone among the nations. 

But these words of the sweet singer of Israel have 
a higher and holier meaning. The Kingdom of God 
was taken from them and given to the Gentiles. Israel 
proved themselves unworthy of their Messiah, when 
they nailed him to the Cross. Their Temple fell into a 
mouldering heap ; and another is built upon its ruins, 
a holy House of God not made with hands. It is the 
Christian Church, that Temple of God which shall 
stand to the end of days. Its pillars rise from the 
earth to the skies, and its walls enclose all the lands and 
peoples of earth. And of this Temple Jesus Christ is 
the corner-stone. So He called Himself, as He quoted 
this Psalm to the high priests and elders of Israel, who 
rejected Him. They chose the murderer Barabbas in 
His stead, and delivered Him to be crucified. They 
cried: "We will not have this man to rule over us. 
Crucify Him; His blood be on us and our children." 
Yet by His resurrection from the dead He became the 



EASTER DAY 245 



corner-stone of the Church, as Peter testifies before the 
rulers (Acts 4, 10) : "Jesus of Nazareth, whom ye cru- 
cified, God raised from the dead * * * He is the stone 
which was set at naught by you the builders, which 
was made the head of the corner. And in none other 
is there salvation, etc." 

And Jesus Christ is the corner-stone of the World's 
History. All that happens in it, only serves to glorify 
His name, spread His Gospel, and build up His King- 
dom in the end. He is the corner- and foundation- 
stone of all nations. It is not their millions of popu- 
lation, their mighty armies ; no not even their worldly 
education and wisdom which exalts a people. A na- 
tion can only stand firm in the currents of Time, when 
it is built upon Christ as the living corner-stone. "He 
that falleth on this stone shall be broken to pieces : but 
on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust" 
(Mat. 21, 44). 

"He is the corner-stone of families and homes. It 
is not earthly prosperity and mere human affection, 
which build up and preserve the household, but the 
faith and life in Christ Jesus. A home on that founda- 
tion is built on a rock. The rains of dark and evil 
days may fall upon it, the floods of sorrow surge, the 
winds of adversity do their worst, and yet it will not 
fall. But woe unto the family which builds upon the 
sand, how soon only the wreck and ruin of its once 
honored name remains. 

And Jesus Christ is the corner-stone of the Church 
and congregation. It is not wealth, or social promi- 
nence, which make it prosper. It matters little 
whether the kings of the earth belong to it or not. This 
alone matters, that it rest upon the Lord Jesus and His 



246 EASTER DAY 



Word, and that it hold these fast in their purity and 
power. 

And if you ask how the Lord Jesus becomes the 
corner-stone of the Church, our Psalm answers : "This 
is the Lord's doing ; it is marvelous in our eyes." It is 
a great and glorious miracle of God, when we see the 
Christ Child in the manger, the Man of Sorrows upon 
the Cross, the Prince of Life rising from the empty 
grave, or when we watch Him ascending in triumph to 
sit at the right hand of the Majesty on high. And no 
less is there a Divine miracle in the founding and pre- 
serving of the Church on earth. We need only read 
the history of its first three centuries to realize that. 
From all sides enemies gathered together to destroy the 
little flock of believers. Everywhere there were mas- 
sacres and martyrdoms. The Roman emperors tried 
to blot out the Gospel with streams of saintly blood. 
And yet the living Word, never buried out of sight, 
grew until it was mighty enough to burst the old dead 
shell of heathendom about it, and to bury it out of 
sight beneath its spreading branches. 

We need only mark how the Lord Jesus still 
spreads His Church; how He defends it from its ene- 
mies, and pours upon it the fullness of His blessing. In 
how many a center, where there was 100 years ago a 
mere handful of earnest Lutheran Christians, we to- 
day see many flourishing daughters gathered about 
the old Mother Church. No earthly power brought this 
to pass; it cannot be explained by human wisdom or 
influence. "This is the Lord's doing, and marvelous 
in our eyes." Yes! The history of the Church is a 
never-ending miracle! And all this grows out of the 
Easter-wonder itself, and follows because He, the 



EASTER DAY 247 



Church's Head, is risen from the dead and lives and 
reigns to all eternity. All the power and glory of the 
Church on earth has its root in that empty sepulchre, 
where the angel said : "He is risen !" But we are to do 
more than believe the Easter-wonder. 

We Rejoice in the Easter Grace. 

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we 
will rejoice and be glad in it." Men also make festi- 
vals or holidays, which are kept with great display. 
They go from one to another, and yet the heart is not 
glad. The flesh enjoys them, but after a time comes 
the reaction, and these festivals only leave us poorer 
in the end. How different it is with those three great 
festivals, which the Lord has made : Christmas, Easter 
and Whitsuntide! They are the three suns of the 
Church Year, about which all the other Lord's Days 
and week-days revolve as planets. It is hard to say 
which of the three is the greatest and best loved. One 
old writer says truly enough, that each one seems the 
best while we keep it. Today we rejoice in the Easter 
grace. "The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the 
tents of the righteous * * * I shall not die but 
live (v. 15). Thanks be to God, who giveth us the 
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

By His rising our Saviour proves Himself the true 
Prophet. More than once He foretold this. If He had 
not risen, He would have been a false prophet, and all 
He taught unworthy of belief. But now we rejoice in 
the truth of His Word : "Heaven and earth shall pass 
away, but My Word shall not pass away." All He has 
promised of the New Jerusalem and its reward stands 
fast. 



248 EASTER DAY 



His resurrection proves Him our true High Priest. 
Death is the wages of sin. Had He been holden in 
the hands of death, then He were a sinner, such as 
we, and His sacrifice on the Cross would be no atone- 
ment for our sins. But God the Father declared it 
such, and sufficient and satisfactory unto Himself, in 
that He raised Him from the dead. Now we may con- 
fidently say that "Christ was delivered for our offenses, 
and raised again for our justification," as our great 
High Priest. 

His resurrection also makes Him the King of 
Glory. Had He remained dead, the Devil would have 
triumphed ; but now is He "declared to be the Son of 
God with power * * * by the resurrection from the 
dead" (Rom. 1,4). It is plain that He Is the Lord over 
the living and the dead, King over Death and the Devil. 

Our text speaks of rejoicing in this day." This 
does not mean on it, or through it until it end, but over 
it, about it, which we may do long afterward. Easter 
should be an evergreen wreath about our life, a joy 
that glows for ever in our hearts. And that will come, 
when we hold Him fast as our true Prophet. The world 
may despise His Word, and attack it with the weapons 
of doubt, unbelief, and mockery; but we hold it fast, 
and say: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, 
for it is the power of God unto salvation." He is the 
Prophet in whose word we can always rejoice and be 
glad. 

Again, we "rejoice in this day" whenever we be- 
lieve in Him as our High Priest. Our heart condemns 
us, but God is greater than our heart. Because of this 
High Priest we can say: "Who shall lay anything to 



EASTER DAY 249 



the charge of God's elect? Who is He that condemneth? 
It is Christ Jesus that died (for us), yea rather that 
was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of 
God, who also maketh intercession for us" (Rom. 8, 
33f). 

And after the same fashion we may rejoice always 
in this Day and its grace, whenever we own Him our 
King. Many a stony grief may weigh down the heart, 
but He remains the Almighty King who can help, and 
the All-merciful who will. As He bade angels roll the 
stone away from His own grave, which had so troubled 
the women, so He will roll away our griefs. We may 
be called upon to stand by the graves of those we love 
best, or to walk that way ourselves, yet it will but lead 
us to glory if we hold fast this Easter-King, who has 
abolished death and brought life and immortality to 
light. This is the Easter- joy, which should fill our 
hearts at all times. But alas ! it fails to do so, because 
it is so poor and weak in us. The spirit is willing, but 
the flesh is weak. We lift up our heads in this joy, 
but fail to keep them up. They are so soon bowed 
down again by some new sorrow. Only One can give 
us grace and strength for this, and make this Easter 
joy ever greater, fuller, deeper, and truer. But if He 
is to bestow upon us such gifts, then 

The Easter Prayer Must Rise From Our Hearts. 

We remember the two disciples on the way to 
Emmaus, and how when our Lord seemed about to 
leave them they constrained Him to stay, saying: 
"Abide with us ; for it is toward evening, and the day 
is now far spent" (Luke 24, 29). Then went He in, 
and sat at table with them. Such times will come in 



250 EASTER DAY 



our lives, when the evening comes on apace, and the 
Easter sun with its joyous light seems about to set 
for us. Then let us pray : "Abide with us, Lord," like 
the disciples; or in the closing words of our text: 

"Save now, we beseech Thee, Jehovah; 

O Jehovah, we beseech Thee, send now prosperity." 

This Easter-prayer, the "Hosanna," is first of all 
a prayer for ourselves, that our eyes may be opened to 
believe the Easter-wonder, and our hearts to rejoice 
in the Easter-grace. But it goes further. Beneath our 
roof, or among our acquaintances are those we must 
sorrow over, because they have not yet found the 
Saviour, and do not love His Word and House. For 
them too we pray: "Save now, we beseech Thee, O 
Lord." 

How many a heart about us is troubled in this 
Easter season, and feels lonely and forsaken as never 
before. The true Easter-joy will not turn in and abide 
with them. Our Saviour after His Resurrection sought 
such out first, and blessed them with the sight of His 
Risen glory. He visited Peter, sorrowing over his 
sin ; Mary Magdalene weeping beside His grave ; and 
the two, sad of heart, on their way to Emmaus. And 
so we pray, He would enter through the closed doors 
of every sorrowful heart, and gladden it with his 
greeting of peace. 

And we dare not forget the doubting and indif- 
ferent, mocking and defiant sinners; for He came to 
seek and save all who were lost. He turned Paul the 
persecutor of the Church, from his wicked way to a 
blessed apostleship. Our Hosanna is a prayer, that a 
ray of that Heavenly glory Paul beheld, may fall upon 



EASTER DAY 251 



every heart which cleaves to its sins. And here is the 
whole Christian Church on earth, besieged in many- 
places by the hatred of the world, and often not at one 
among themselves, but divided into hostile camps. For 
it we pray, that the Lord God would keep it steadfast 
and united in His Word, and defend it from all these 
assaults of the Evil One. Again, here are the Jews 
who still keep their worn-out Passover, while we keep 
our Easter. They still cry : "We will not have this man 
to rule over us !" and have not for their sacrifice "The 
Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world." 
And beside them are millions of heathen, who live on 
in their sin and shame, and know not the true and liv- 
ing God. We pray for all these, too, that our Saviour 
in mercy would hasten the day, of which He has spoken, 
when there shall be "One Fold and One Shepherd." All 
these we embrace in our Easter-prayer: Hosanna, or 
"Save now, we beseech Thee, Lord." Amen. 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

Quasi Modo Geniti. 

Gen. 14, 14-24: "And when Abraham heard that his brother 
was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his 
house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan 
* * * And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back 
his brother Lot. * * * And the king of Sodom went out to 
meet him. after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer 
and the kings that were with him. * * * And Melchizedek, 
king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine: and he was 
priest of God Most High, and he blessed him, and said, "Blessed 
be Abram of God Most High, possessor of Heaven and earth; 
and blessed be God Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies 
into thy hand. And he gave him a tenth of all, etc." See also 
Heb. 7, 1-10 and 15-17. 

Hymns: 

443. This is the Day the Lord Hath Made. v. 1-3. 

284. The God of Abram; Praise, v. 1, 4, 5 and 7. 

114. Christ the Lord, Is Risen Again, v. 2-4. 

116. Alleluia! alleluia! v. If. 

108. Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain, v. 1 and 3. 

117. Christ Is Risen! Alleluia! v. 2f. 

398. If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee. v. 1-4. 

255. The Lord My Shepherd Is. v. 5. 

257. As Pants the Hart for Cooling Shade, v. If. 

136. I Know That My Redeemer Lives, v. 2f. 

Melchizedek, A Type of Our Easter King. 

In each new season of the Church Year it is always 
the same figure which is set before our eyes, the Lord 
Jesus Christ. But each shows Him to us in a different 
light. Epiphany shows Him to us as a Prophet, mighty 
in word and deed ; Lent as the great High Priest, who 
offered up Himself for us on the Cross ; Easter as the 
King of Glory, triumphing over sin, death, and Hell. 
Thus in this season we hear of the King and His King- 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 253 

dom. The glorious liberty we enjoy in this Kingdom 
is peace, and therefore He greets His disciples so gra- 
ciously: "Peace be with you." The officers are the 
Holy Apostles, whom He now sends even as the Father 
has sent Him, and gives them authority to remit or to 
retain sins, as they are guided by the Spirit in the 
Word. And if you ask about the Kingdom's code of 
laws, there is but one law: that we should believe in 
Him, which includes "believing" and "be loving" in 
Him God and our fellow-men. So John closes this Sun- 
day's Gospel: "Many other signs therefore did Jesus 
in the presence of the disciples, which are not written 
in this book; but these are written, that ye may be- 
lieve that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that 
believing ye may have life in His name." 

There are three men especially in the 0. T., who are 
types of this eternal King : David, from whom He de- 
scended after the flesh, in whose city of Bethlehem He 
was born, and who like Him was humbled and suffered 
many things, but at last honored and rewarded so that 
from a shepherd lad he became a Shepherd of God's 
people. The second was Solomon, with all the wisdom, 
glory and peace of his reign ; and the third was Mel- 
chizedek. This is really an Easter picture, unfolded 
before our eyes in the words of our text, as Abraham 
stands before him in the King's Vale. May the Lord 
bless it unto us, that like Thomas we may bow before 
our Easter King and cry: "My Lord and my God." 

The Dignity of Melchizedek. 

Abraham rescued his nephew Lot from Chedor- 
laomer and his allies. With only his 318 servants 
he won a complete victory, and came home laden with 



254 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

spoils. Hearing of this the King of Sodom goes out 
to negotiate with him for the return of the goods to the 
surviving citizens of Sodom. And with him goes an- 
other king, a mysterious person whom we would like 
to know better, but the more we learn of him the 
more we think of our Lord and Saviour ; for Melchize- 
dek is an index finger for the Christ, and points men 
to Christ rather than to himself. 

The very person of this man is wrapped in mys- 
tery. Moses never fails elsewhere to add a surname to 
notable persons, and an account of their death. But 
Melchizedek is not the son of so-and-so here ; he comes 
stealing mysteriously into the Sacred Record, and the 
next moment is lost to our view just as strangely, with 
no account of his decease. Nothing is told us of his 
father, or tribe, or family; and nothing of his birth 
and death. Therefore Hebrews (7, 3) says he is "With- 
out father, without mother, without genealogy, having 
neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made 
like unto the Son of God, he abideth a priest continu- 
ally." The things which are simply not recorded of 
him here, point us to the transcendant mystery of the 
Christ. He had literally no earthly father, but was be- 
gotten of His Father from eternity ; yet we see Him as 
a Child in the Manger, and as the Man of Sorrows upon 
the Cross. How is it possible that He who was true 
God from eternity, could become a child of man ; that 
He, who died for us, could rise and live forever? 
The more we think of it, the more we feel His endless 
mystery, which we can never understand, and into 
which angels desire to look. We must confess with 
David (Ps. 139, 6) : 

"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; 
It is high, I cannot attain to it." 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 255 

We can only cry with Paul (Rom. 11, 33) : "0 the 
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowl- 
edge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, 
and His ways past tracing out!" 

Another prominent feature of Melchizedek is that 
he is a king. That, too, sets us thinking of our Saviour. 
The Prophet Zechariah (9, 9) foretells Him as a King: 
"Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion ; shout, daugh- 
ter of Jerusalem: behold thy King cometh unto thee, 
etc." Before His birth the angel declared: "Of His 
Kingdom there shall be no end." The Wise Men call 
Him the "King of the Jews;" and likewise the multi- 
tude, as He rides into, Jerusalem, add to their hosannas 
the title "King of Israel" (John 12, 13) . Pilate asks : 
"Art Thou a King then?" And Jesus answers in the 
Hebrew way : "Thou sayest it, I am a King." And that 
was the title he wrote over the Cross and refused to 
change: "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." 
And on that mountain in Galilee the Risen One de- 
clares: "All authority hath been given unto Me in 
Heaven and on earth" (Mat. 28, 18) . 

Again, the very name of Melchizedek is made up 
of two familiar Hebrew words, which occur often in 
such names: Melek, king; and zedek, righteousness. 
So any student of the Bible knows this one as the King 
of righteousness, which was just what the men of 
his day meant by that title. Here, too, he is a type of 
our Saviour. The prophet Jeremiah, who foretold the 
coming of this King as a branch from David's family- 
tree, adds: "And this is His name whereby He shall 
be called: Jehovah our Righteousness (23, 6)." His 
enemies could not convict Him of sin, and even un- 
righteous Pilate must wash his hands and say : "I find 



256 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

in Him no crime at all. I am innocent of the blood of 
this just person." But Christ is more than righteous 
Himself ; it is written that He is "our Righteousness," 
and a very Melchizedek, or "King of Righteousness," 
because He makes us righteous before the Father, be- 
ing "delivered for our offenses, and raised again for 
our justification." 

And yet again, Melchizedek is King of Salem, or 
Peace, another familiar Hebrew word, which gives a 
name to many of our churches. Salem was only the 
name of the city or kingdom where Melchizedek ruled ; 
but here it is more than a name, a living fact in the 
Kingdom of Christ. He is indeed the "Prince of 
Peace," wherever He rules. The angels sang of it at 
His birth: "On earth peace," and Zacharias declares 
He came "To guide our feet into the way of peace." 
The Gospel He sent His disciples to preach was the 
"Gospel of peace," and their very feet were shod with 
it (Eph. 6, 15). And peace is His greeting on the 
Easter Day, and His bequest to us in His last will and 
testament: "Peace I leave with you" (John 14, 27). 
Peace is what He obtained for us by the blood of the 
Cross (Col. 1, 19), wherefore Paul writes (Rom. 5, 1) : 
"Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with 
God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Always in His 
Kingdom, 

"Mercy and Truth are met together; 

Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other." (Ps. 85, 10.) 

And the last of Melchizedek's titles points just as 
plainly to the Christ. He is "a priest of the most high 
God." It is remarkable that here in a heathen land 
Abraham finds a man who, like himself, knows and be- 
lieves in the one true God ; and still more remarkable 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 257 

that he is a priest of this God, and stands in an office 
which was formally instituted only hundreds of years 
later, when Aaron and his sons ministered before the 
Lord. And the climax is reached in the fact that he 
was king and priest at the same time. Later on 
this was forbidden in the Law under the penalty of 
death (Numb. 3, 10) ; and King Uzziah who attempted 
it became, a leper-king (II. Chron. 26, 19). As the one 
man in Sacred History to unite in himself these two 
offices, this Melchizedek seems more than a prophecy, 
almost a dim 0. T. appearance of the Christ, who was 
to be a "Priest upon His Throne" (Zech. 6, 13), and 
not simply in a temple. 

David sings: 

"Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent: 

Thou art a priest for ever 

After the order of Melchizedek." (Ps. 110, 4). 

Let no one think then, that this parallel is a bit of 
human invention, since even David in his day speaks of 
him as a type of the Christ who was to come. Though 
this Psalm opens as the song about a King, there is no 
error in its reference to Him as Priest. Hebrews 7 
makes plain that we have more than the usual 0. T. 
priest in our Christ, One who like this Melchizedek is 
before them all, above them all, and mighty to save. 

And now we see Melchizedek bringing forth the 
bread and wine for weary Abraham's refreshing after 
his hard-fought battle. This is simply an O. T. picture 
of Him, who refreshes and strengthens us in His Word 
and Sacrament, so that under His banners we may go 
on with the good fight of faith against sin and self. 

Finally, Melchizedek blesses Abraham, as our 



258 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

Saviour blessed the little children brought to Him, and 
left a benediction upon His disciples as He ascended to 
Heaven. From His hands countless blessings flow into 
our lives from the cradle to the grave. We owe our 
prosperity in our calling, grace to help in time of need, 
our health of body and growth in grace, every joy 
which comes to our heart, each tear of repentance we 
weep, every victory our faith attains, and each fruit 
the Spirit brings forth in us, to this One, whom Mel- 
chizedek foreshadowed as he blessed Abraham there 
in the King's Vale. And in these days, especially, as 
we follow Him from His open Easter-grave to the 
Mount of Ascension, our eyes should mark in our King 
and Priest the rich fullness of His blessings. Let us 
note also 

Abraham's Humility Before Melchizedek. 

Our text says : "And he gave him a tenth of all . " 
Abraham gladly accepts the bread and wine, and is 
just as thankful for the blessing. This servant of 
God knew that in his descendants all the nations of 
the earth shall be blessed, yet he bows humbly before 
this stranger-king, because he is a priest of the most 
high God, and rejoices in the blessing Melchizedek pro- 
nounces upon him. As he gives him tithes of all his 
sword has won, Abraham thanks God for the victory 
over his enemies, and dedicates a portion of the spoils 
to the Lord, that the remainder may be sanctified and 
God's blessing may rest upon the enjoyment of it. 
He deals with Melchizedek as God's representative. 

We may learn much from this edifying scene. Be- 
fore us stands in this Easter season the great High 
Priest, whose office is so clearly of God. It is our Risen 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 259 

Lord and Saviour. He brings to us His Word and Sac- 
rament and all the rich goods won for us by His death 
and resurrection. He blesses us with righteousness, 
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. It is highly in order 
then for each of us, like Thomas in our Gospel, to bow 
humbly before Him, and confess Him as "My Lord 
and my God ;" to acknowledge that His gifts and bless- 
ings are our true riches in all our poverty, our strength 
in weakness, and comfort in our troubles; and to 
promise that we will willingly hear and learn His 
Word, come to His Sacrament, and bring forth fruit 
by patient continuance in well-doing. We should de- 
sire His blessing for heart and home more humbly than 
Abraham before Melchizedek For we have a greater 
victory to thank Him for, even as John writes in our 
Epistle today : "This is the victory that hath overcome 
the world, even our faith" (I. 5, 4) ; and as Paul 
writes : "Death is swallowed up in victory." We owe 
Him, too, earnest repentance for our daily shortcom- 
ings, and vows of new obedience even as He is risen 
in newness of life. God grant us the right earnestness 
in such thank-offerings. Then this will be indeed a 
Sunday "Quasi Modo Geniti," and as newborn babes 
we shall put on that new man which after God is 
created in righteousness and true holiness. 

But we must not forget the tithes Abraham 
brought ; they, too, have a meaning for us. This tenth 
part of the goods he had acquired calls upon us to give 
willingly and generously to His Church and His poor. 
It was the decency of even a heathen's worship of his 
gods, that he brought these tithes, and much more 
should it mark ours as Christians. Then what is left 
will be sanctified by what we have given, and we will 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 



be blessed in our enjoyment of it. Then our faith will 
be that only faith which avails, or amounts to anything, 
"the faith that worketh by love" (Gal. 5, 6), and this 
King and Priest of ours will pour upon us the fullness 
of His blessings for body and soul. 

But this scene in the King's Vale is more than a 
promise for earth and time. The day will come when 
our last battle has been waged against the Prince of 
this world and his allies. Like Abraham, we will turn 
our faces homeward to the Eternal City, the Jerusalem 
which is above. Then there will come out to meet us a 
King of Salem, the Heavenly Prince of Peace, and to 
him that overcometh He will give to eat of the Tree of 
Life and the hidden manna. We shall eat and drink 
with Him in His Kingdom (Luke 22, 30), and He will 
bless us through all eternity. Amen. 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

Misericordias Domini. 

Gospel: John 10, 11-16. 

Psalm 23: 

"Jehovah is my shepherd, 

I shall not want. 

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; 

He leadeth me beside still waters. 

He restoreth my soul: 

He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for His 

name's sake. 
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow 

of death, 
I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; 
Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. 
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine 

enemies : 
Thou shalt annoint my head with oil; 
My cup runneth over. 
Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all 

the days of my life; 
And I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah for ever." 

Hymns: 

255. The Lord My Shepherd Is. 

565. Saviour, Like a Sheperd Lead Us. 

174. Saviour, Who Thy Flock Art Feeding. 

177. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, v. If. 

136. I Know That My Redeemer Lives! v. 2-4. 

345. The King of Love My Shepherd Is. 

410. We Are the Lord's : His All-Sufficient Merit, v. 1 and 4. 

The Lord, Our Good Shepherd. 

The prophets of the 0. T. foretold the coming of a 
great Shepherd for God's people: "He will feed His 
flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in His 
arm, and carry them in His bosom, and will gently lead 



262 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

those that have their young" (Is. 40, 11) And Ezekiel 
(34, 11-23) prophesies of our Lord: "Behold, I Myself, 
even I, will search for My sheep * * * and I will 
deliver them out of all places whither they have been 
scattered in the cloudy and dark day. * * * And I 
will set up One Shepherd over them, and He shall feed 
them, even My Servant David (patronymic for Christ) ; 
He shall feed them, and He shall be their Shepherd." 
All these promises are fulfilled in our Lord Jesus, whom 
the Apostles call the "Shepherd and Bishop of their 
souls" (I. Peter 2, 25) ; the "Chief Shepherd" (5, 4) ; 
and the "Great Shepherd of the Sheep" (Heb. 13, 20). 
And our Lord describes Himself as a man having sheep, 
who will "go after that which is lost, until He find it" 
(Luke 15, 4). He calls His believers His "Little Flock" 
(Luke 12, 32) ; and commands His Apostle to "Feed 
My lambs, feed My sheep" (John 21, 16). Likewise 
in our Gospel today. He declares: "I am the Good 
Shepherd," for He lays down His life for the sheep. 
His love and faithfulness are shown by His knowing 
them; and seeking the lost, until they all hear His 
voice and there is one Fold, one Shepherd. 

What now is the response His believers should 
make to such a message of love? We can find none 
more beautiful and blessed than this Psalm of David, 
who himself tended sheep, and knows what a friend 
he has in this Good and Faithful Shepherd. David 
who confesses Him, sings of Him here, walks only in 
the dim light of prophecy. How then we ought to 
rejoice in Him, who walk in the clear light of the 
Gospel ! We, who have just kept the Easter Feast ! Let 
us first confess that this Good Shepherd is 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 263 

Our True Riches in All Our Poverty. 

The children of God are often here on earth poor, 
despised, and plagued. Many of them have only little 
homes, shabby clothes, scanty fare, and belong to the 
humbler class of society. They have many a care, anx- 
iety, and sorrow. But yet they can all rejoice, saying: 
"The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want." For the 
Lord Jesus is their treasure above all treasures, their 
most precious possession. He dwells among them, and 
honors their little home. This Sun of Righteousness 
shines under their roof, and lights up each dark room 
and faded wall. They put on the Lord Jesus, and are 
clothed with the garments of salvation and the robe 
of righteousness, costly and elegant raiment which no 
money can buy. They have the living Bread from 
Heaven, and drink the water of Life; their table is 
richly spread after all. They are children of God, 
brethren of the Lord Jesus, citizens of Heaven, and 
comrades with the holy angels; rightly viewed they 
are the only "first families" of our land. In our Lord 
Jesus they have the true Care-taker-away and Foun- 
tain-of-Joy ; so that these who seem sorrowful, are al- 
ways rejoicing ; who apparently have nothing, yet pos- 
sess all things. 

What are these green pastures and still waters in 
which they, with the sweet singer of Israel, may re- 
joice? These are the green pastures of the Divine 
Word, the softly flowing springs of the Gospel and the 
Sacraments. The words of man at their best are but 
bare and unfruitful fields, for they cannot nourish and 
refresh the needy soul. But God's Word has shown its 
power and comfort continually throughout the centu- 
ries. It never becomes stale and unprofitable. "The 



264 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

wells of God are full of water ;" so kings and emperors, 
wise men and unlearned, the rich and the poor, masters 
and servants, the captive and the free, the old and 
the young confess. 

Have we not often experienced this, beloved? 
When in the morning we open our Bibles, we here find 
strength for the toils and cares of the day. When we 
turn to them at nightfall, we find green pastures and 
still waters here to refresh us after the heat and bur- 
den of the day. Again this has been our experience on 
so many a Lord's Day. We came into the House of 
God with burdened conscience, and our poor heart full 
of anxious cares. We were depressed, downcast, al- 
most ready to despair under the burdens of life and 
under our load of guilt. And here the Good Shepherd 
led us to green pastures and by still waters ; His greet- 
ing of peace gave us new strength and comfort; and 
the smile of the Lord sent us home rejoicing. This has 
been our experience also as we came to His Table. We 
felt weary of well doing, restless in heart, and peace- 
less in conscience, but we were nourished and refreshed 
there, and went away rejoicing: 

"Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation: 

Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people." 

"My soul doth magnify the Lord. 

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Saviour." 

Yes, we acknowledge thankfully, that God's Word 
and His Holy Sacraments are strength, comfort, and 
refreshment for us. Now they are a Bread from 
Heaven to strengthen, then a flowing spring to refresh ; 
again they are medicine in sickness, or balm for our 
wounds ; a staff to lean upon, or sword and shield to 
arm us against our foes. Our Lord Jesus is indeed our 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 265 

riches in all our poverty, and His Gospel our truest 
treasure. Even in bodily need He sees to it that we 
lack no good thing; and gives all that is wholesome 
and needful to us, who know His grace and truth, love 
His Word, and walk in His ways. As once He asked 
His disciples: "Lacked ye anything?" and they an- 
swered : "Nothing !" so we too shall always reply with 
thankful hearts. Let this then stand fast for us : 

"The Lord is my Shepherd, 
I shall not want." 

Our Strength in Weakness. 

The great burden, which crushes us down into the 
dust of earth, is our guilt. This is the thing which 
embitters our memory of the past, darkens the pres- 
ent, and fills us with terror at the thought of the future. 
But under our Saviour's Cross and by His open Easter- 
grave this burden rolls away as Bunyan pictured it 
in the Pilgrim's Progress, for "He was delivered for 
our offenses, and raised again for our justification." 

Yet it is this same old sinfulness which adds to 
the evil burdens of each day. We contend against it, 
and still cannot always overcome it. We stumble, and 
our progress in the way of life is slow and hard. We 
would so gladly deny ourselves and crucify the flesh 
with all its evil lusts. Yet we are so often tempted, and 
find the spirit willing, but the flesh weak. We resolve 
to control our hasty temper, but when a harsh word 
or an offensive look is cast at us, the hot blood rushes 
as swiftly and wildly as ever through our arteries. We 
plan to root out our selfishness, but a very little praise 
fertilizes it, and up it springs ranker than before; or 
a little blame makes us feel as deeply offended and 



266 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

sorely wounded as ever. We would tame our impa- 
tience, but when the Cross is laid upon us, it seems 
heavier or lasts longer than we expected, and we are 
impatient once more, if not doubting and despairing. 
Yes, sin is the thing which makes us so much trouble, 
in spite of all our watching and praying. We must 
daily say with Paul : "I delight in the Law of God after 
the inward man : but I see a different law in my mem- 
bers, warring against the law of my mind, and bring- 
ing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in 
my members. Wretched man that I am! Who shall 
deliver me out of the body of this death?" (Rom. 7, 
22ff). But we, too, may continue with him: "I thank 
God through Jesus Christ our Lord," for my Good and 
Faithful Shepherd is my strength in all weakness."He 
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's 
sake." 

These paths are the way of His Holy Command- 
ments. Jesus Christ shows us this way, walked it be- 
fore us, and left us an example that we should follow 
His footsteps. Moreover He gives us the strength and 
desire to walk this way, opening our eyes to note our 
least departure from it, lifting us up when we fall, 
and affording us gracious help and faithful guidance in 
it. 

But will He always do this? If I fall again and 
again, will He not withdraw His hand and forsake 
me ? No, Never ! He guides me in these paths of right- 
eousness not for my sake, but for His name's sake. 
My demerits and unworthiness do not count here, but 
the fact that He is "Merciful and gracious, slow to an- 
ger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth" (Ex. 
34, 6) . Since this is the name He has chosen, He must 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 267 

live up to it. And my pride must bow down before it, 
because my merits are not reckoned in here at all. Here 
therefore I have sweetest comfort, for I am assured I 
will never be rejected for my un worthiness' sake. He 
cannot forsake me, even though I may forsake Him. 
He must still hold and lead me by His hand for His 
name's sake. Thus He is my strength in weakness. 

Our Comfort in All Our Trouble. 

What a precious thing is this: 

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; 
Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." 

With these words Gregory of Nazianz refreshed 
himself, when for his faith's sake he was brought be- 
fore the judge. With this Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg 
girded himself, as he led his men into battle against 
the wild hordes of Hungary. And a wiser and more 
renowned man, the philosopher Immanuel Kant, said: 
"All the books I have read never comforted me, as did 
this Bible verse." 

The Valley of the Shadow is that of the Cross, 
affliction, and tears, where the sun does not shine, and 
our feet walk dim, hard ways. Yet here our Good 
Shepherd goes before us, and "Thou art with me" is 
the promise which rolls away the stones of care and 
mountains of anxiety from our hearts. Yes, Jesus 
goes with us, tells us in His Word why we must suffer, 
encourages us by His own splendid example, gives us 
strength to bear our Cross ; and more than this, lays 
it on His own shoulder lest we be tempted above that 
we are able to bear. He shows us the glorious goal 
which awaits us, so that with Paul we too "Reckon 



268 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy 
to be compared with the glory" of the future, while 
"our light affliction which is but for a moment work- 
eth out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight 
of glory." 

We further confess as our comfort : 

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine 

enemies; 
Thou anointest my head with oil; 
My cup runneth over." 

Here a soldier is pictured sitting down to a ban- 
quet, calm and unconcerned, in full view of his ene- 
mies, because he has an ally who will attend to them. 
Let the world mock and persecute, false brethren at- 
tack in selfishness, envy and bitterness ; we still sit un- 
worried at the table our Lord has spread for us! He 
anoints us with the oil of the Holy Ghost, fills for us 
the cup of salvation, and is ever our Comforter. For 
His sake and with His help we may bear much, and 
hope to overcome evil with good; forget and forgive. 
Let the old Enemy rage against us, attack and accuse ; 
we fear not his threats and tricks, for we sit safely 
at the table of our Master, and eat and drink of the 
good things of His House. "Of His fullness have we 
all received, and grace for grace," one bit after an- 
other. Blessed are those who know and follow this 
Shepherd. 

Our Hope Mid All Earthly Changes. 

We are pilgrims and strangers on earth, and have 
here no abiding city, but seek one to come. Therefore 
we must experience many changes, where there is noth- 
ing abiding, and all is only vanity under the sun. There 
is nothing we can keep for ever, nothing we can rejoice 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 269 

in for ever, or safely build our hopes upon. But God 
be thanked we have an Eternal Shepherd, who lives 
and reigns to all eternity, and lifted up above all 
change, is with us always even unto the end of the 
world. He walks all our ways with us, dwells in our 
homes, sits at our tables and by our sick-beds, and 
stands by the graves of our loved ones. Therefore we 
may exult : 

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my 

life: 
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." 

Neither time or space, years or miles, separate me 
from Him ; for the whole world, and even the Valley 
of the Shadow, is for me such a house of the Lord, and 
abounds with His goodness and mercy. Of this I am 
sure, and when my last hour comes, I can say even more 
joyfully: "I shall dwell in the House of the Lord for 
ever ;" for then I shall enter the Father's House where 
the many mansions are, and find an eternal habitation. 

Is this not a precious Psalm ? That godly soul was 
right, who said : "The Twenty-third Psalm is the night- 
ingale among them all, timid, small, and singing only in 
the dark ; but filling the whole world with joy and com- 
fort. Blessed the day when this Psalm was born !" 

Our Lord Jesus said: "I know My sheep, and am 
known of Mine." He who can not sing this Psalm, does 
not know Him ; and he who cannot sing it always, does 
not know Him fully. Seek to know Him better. Then 
in green pastures and the dark valley, at His Table and 
in the presence of your enemies, you may rejoice thus. 
Then in all poverty and all weakness, amid all sorrows 
and changes of this present time, you may exult : 

"The Lord is my Shepherd, 
I shall not want. Amen." 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

Jubilate. 

Gospel: John 16, 16-23. 

Psalm 126: 

"When Jehovah brought back those that returned to Zion, 
We were like unto them that dream. 
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, 
And our tongue with singing: 
Then said they among the nations, 
Jehovah hath done great things for them. 
Jehovah hath done great things for us: 
Whereof we are glad. 
Turn again our captivity, O Jehovah, 
As the streams in the South. 
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing seed for sowing, 
Shall doubtless come again with joy, bringing his sheaves 
with him." 

Hymns: 

198. The Church's One Foundation, v. 3. 

411. What Cheering Words Are These. 
480. A Few More Years Shall Roll. v. 4f. 

412. Come Ye Disconsolate. Ref. 

177. Father. Son, and Holy Spirit, v. 1 and 6. 

413. Peace, Perfect Peace, v. 37. 

409. God Moves in a Mysterious Way. v. 3-f. 

520. Forever With the Lord. v. 2-4 and 7. 

Christian People Sorrowful Yet Always Rejoicing. 

In 1740 a ship carrying two Moravian mission- 
aries, Fedor and Israel, was wrecked in a winter storm 
on one of the West Indies, the island of Skrop. The 
captain and sailors escaped in the ship's boat, desert- 
ing them. Rev. Feder tried to swim through the rag- 
ing surf, but was dashed upon the rocks and killed. A 
few negro slaves were left on the wreck with them, 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 271 

but one after another of these was washed away, until 
only one slave and Missionary Israel were left. These 
two were rescued after many hours, by ropes which 
the islanders threw from the cliffs above. And for 
many a year they told how, as* he clung to the wreck, 
they heard the missionary singing our familiar Chris- 
tian hymns of the Cross and Comfort. They marveled 
much, that in the midst of death, as one after another 
of his companions were swept away, his heart could 
find such courage and comfort. It came from his faith 
in the Risen Saviour, who has promised to be with us 
always, even unto the end of the world. 

That missionary clinging to the wreck, with the 
storm sweeping over his head and the sea raging at 
his feet, is a picture of the assaults and trials the Chris- 
tian often meets with in this poor life. Then we ex- 
perience what our Lord foretells in to-day's Gospel: 
"Ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice : 
ye shall be sorrowful." But then we ought to lift up 
our eyes to our Saviour's promise : "Your sorrow shall 
be turned into joy." That saying of Paul (II. Cor. 
6, 10) ought always be the Christian's motto: "As sor- 
rowful, yet always rejoicing." The same thought runs 
through this Psalm ; it is still the Song of Ascents for 
us pilgrims to the Heavenly Zion, and with it we may 
comfort ourselves. In all our sorrows we can rejoice, 
first in 

Our Thankful Memory of the Past. 

Luther translated this Psalm, as though it were 
sung during the long captivity at Babylon, where Israel 
looked through their tears for the time when the Lord 
would "turn again their captivity." But here our Eng- 
lihs Bible is right : "When Jehovah brought back those 



272 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

that returned to Zion." They who sang this Psalm, 
looked back to a captivity already turned. Much of the 
time they "were like unto them that dream," when un- 
der Zerubbabel and the High Priest Joshua they zeal- 
ously began to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the 
Temple of God. With this Psalm they comforted them- 
selves, whilst Sanballat attacked them, and slandered 
them to the king of Persia, so that at last he reversed 
his decree and forbade the work on the Temple walls. 
Only under his successor was the work continued. But 
even then the days were dark, for the Samaritan and 
Ammonite mocked this little band, and came with an 
army to hinder them by force. In such days this godly 
singer bade them remember that when the Lord brought 
them back, 

"Then said they among the nations. 
Jehovah hath done great things for them." 

The Psalmist points them not to the future, but 
to the past. They are to have a thankful memory for 
God's past deliverances. They are not to forget that, 

"Jehovah hath done great things for us: 
Whereof we are glad." 

Such memories are to give them joy and courage in 
their present difficulties. 

This bit of Jewish History applies to the tasks 
which lie before us as a congregation, and especially 
in our personal lives. Now of these I know but little, 
little of the present and less of the past. But of this 
I am sure, that all of you have had some troubles. Yes, 
we have seen many of our plans suffer shipwreck, and 
have buried many of our hopes. Our feet have walked 
many a hard way, and may still be standing in such 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 273 

paths. Some among us are very sick; many a heart 
today mourns with David (Ps. 13) : 

"How long, O Jehovah, wilt Thou forget me for ever ? 
How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me ? 
How long shall I take counsel in my soul, 
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?" 

Some are sorrowing over toils which reaped no 
reward, others over the ruins of a happy future they 
once felt within their grasp, still others by the graves 
of those they loved. 

And even if there were none such among us, we 
have all one sorrow in common as Christians : Our sin- 
fulness. We have often vowed on such a holy morning 
as this, that we would do better, keep all sinful thoughts 
out of our hearts and all loveless words from our lips, 
walk in true humility and gentleness among our breth- 
ren, and serve our God with all diligence and faithful- 
ness. Then came the rush and hurry of the week, 
with its labors and cares, the daily friction with our 
fellow-men, and the irritation growing out of it. And 
ere the week closed we were ready to confess sadly with 
Paul : "The good which I would, I do not ; but the evil 
which I would not, that I practice" (Rom. 7, 19). So 
we are always as the sorrowful. 

And yet we are always rejoicing, too, because of 
our thankful memory. We have just celebrated Good 
Friday and Easter, and rejoiced in Him, who "was de- 
livered for our offenses, and raised again for our justi- 
fication." As often as we think of this through the year 
we must say with the Psalmist: 

"When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion 
We were like unto them that dream, 
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, 
And our tongue with singing." 



274 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

As often as we think of what that first Good Fri- 
day and Easter mean for us poor sinners, we must cry 
with Paul: "If God be for us, who can be against us, 
etc." (Rom. 8, 31). 

Again, amid our sorrows we look back upon lives 
crowned with His loving kindness and tender mercy. 
How many blessings we have enjoyed in our calling; 
how many benefits for body and soul! What quiet, 
happy days of peace in our homes; what wondrous 
grace to help in time of need ! How God has refreshed 
us by the services of His House and His Holy Sacra- 
ments! These flowers, which bloom by life's wayside, 
we dare not trample thoughtlessly under foot. The 
more honest we are with ourselves, the more we will 
confess : 

"The Lord hath done great things for us; 
Whereof we are glad." 

He has turned our mourning into dancing, many 
a sorrow into joy, and much sighing into thanksgiving. 
We have been "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." 
And even if we could find no comfort in such a thank- 
ful memory of the past, we surely must in 

Our Strong Defence for the Present. 

That little band at Jerusalem was hemmed in on 
every side by foes. Only one avenue of help was left 
them: "the lifting up of their eyes to the hills from 
whence cometh our help" (Ps. 121). He who had 
already helped them so mightily was still their Strong 
Defense. Now, so to speak, they were in captivity 
again, but their Covenant God was able to break these 
new bonds and cast these cords also from them. Their 
hearts were full of care and sorrow, and like the 
parched lands in the South which thirst for rain. But 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 275 

over them hung clouds big with Divine mercy, and 
ready to pour upon them floods of blessings, to fill 
again the streams, and bring back verdure to the 
meadows and harvests to the fields. That is what they 
mean when they pray: 

"Turn again our captivity, O Jehovah, 
As the streams in the South." 

A captive is a poor fellow. He is cut off from 
human society by his chains or the walls of his cell, 
which hem him in on every side. He longs in vain 
for the golden sunshine and a breath of the free fresh 
air. And his misery is increased by an accusing con- 
science, because it is often his own wickedness which 
is punishing him, and his forsaking the fear of the 
Lord. This is a picture every Christian heart can un- 
derstand. We look back to that Paradise, where man 
walked in blessed fellowship with God, and every day 
was a Happy Christmas. We feel that we are captives 
here in this flesh, and yearn for the fulfillment of that 
promise : 

"Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty." 

We long in these prison walls for a ray of that 
Heavenly light and a breath of celestial air. But mean- 
while our own hearts condemn us as sinners who de- 
serve nothing better. We are "as the sorrowful." 

But yet we are always rejoicing, too, because we 
still have this Strong Defense. We, too, can pray with 
the Psalmist: 

"Turn again our captivity, Jehovah, 
As the streams in the South." 

Our God bids us call upon Him, and promises that 
"He will deliver us and show us His salvation." Our 



276 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

Saviour says : "Whatsoever ye ask in My name ye shall 
receive." Such prayer is still our strong defense in 
all the sorrows of our souls ; when man troubles us, or 
when we are sick and needy. It opens our eyes to 
God's wondrous works of grace, and fills us with hu- 
mility and patience, to bow beneath His Fatherly hand 
and submit to His will. It gives us courage and 
strength to mount up as on the wings of eagles, to run 
without being weary, and walk without fainting; be- 
cause we know it will bring God's answer and His 
loving choice of what is best for us. Prayer is the 
Jacob's ladder from earth to Heaven. David's harp 
which drives out the evil spirit, Moses' rod which 
brings water out of the rock, the key to God's Heavenly 
treasures, the ship which carries us safely through 
earth's storms, and David's shepherd-pouch whose 
stones fell the mighty enemy. When we gird on this 
weapon, we have a Strong Defense by our side, and if 
we are only diligent in its use, we may be as the sor- 
rowful, yet must be always rejoicing. 

Our Joyful Hope for the Future. 

Even when it pleases God to let us wait for His 
help, we may have this comfort, that 

"They that sow in tears shall reap with joy, 
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing seed for sowing. 
Shall doubtless come again with joy, bringing his sheaves 
with him." 

This promise was gloriously fulfilled to that people 
at Jerusalem. The day came when once more the 
Temple of God stood among them, and about it and 
them the strong walls of the city. They dedicated it 
with joy, offering sacrifices and singing psalms of 
praise to Him, whose mercies were renewed to them. 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 277 

But the promise is for us all, who sow in tears. 
Only mistake not what God says here. The tears are 
not the seed which yields the harvest. We sow in tears, 
go forth weeping and bearing precious seed. There are 
those who think their many tears and sorrows on 
earth entitle them to joys hereafter. But no! There 
is no promise attached to our tears. If ours be only 
worldly sorrow, such tears are the beginning of eter- 
nal woe instead of everlasting bliss. 

When Esau had trifled away his birthright for a 
mess of pottage, and found it had become Jacob's he 
lifted up his voice and wept ; and though he sought to 
regain it with tears, he was rejected. When Joseph 
sat in prison he wept, but it was not these tears which 
brought him out of jail, and to joy and honor. No! 
It was his fear of God, which said in the hour of temp- 
tation : "How can I do this great wrong, and sin against 
my God?" It was his faithfulness in Potiphar's house, 
and as an under-keeper in the prison. It was his faith 
which held fast unshaken to God, and his prayers ad- 
dressed daily to the Throne of Grace. This was the 
seed he sowed and watered with his tears ; and out of 
that precious seed grew his harvest of joy. All the 
tears of the builders, for whom this Psalm was writ- 
ten, would not have built again their Temple and city 
walls. But their faithful, prayerful work, the trowel 
in one hand and the sword in the other, ripened into 
sheaves of rejoicing. 

The seeds we sow are the holy thoughts, words, and 
deeds of the Christian life. It is often hard for us to 
do God's will rather than our own ; to serve our breth- 
ren instead of ourselves ; to walk in God's ways and not 
the world's; and to please God rather than men. So 



278 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

this good seed is sprinkled with many a tear ; tears of 
repentance for much we have done amiss, of sorrow 
for the right and good things neglected, of sympathy 
with our brethren in their misery, and of longing for 
deliverance from our own. But with these tears we 
dropped the seed for sowing: the fear of God and the 
love for man. And though much we undertake may 
fail, and mockery seem our only reward; though we 
are often dissatisfied with ourselves and our own poor 
life and work ; after the sowing of a Christian life, the 
harvest cannot long be delayed. We may not see it 
here in full, but the day will come when this sacred 
Psalm shall have its final and most blessed fulfillment. 
Then those who toiled so hard amid the heat and bur- 
den of the day in God's wheat fields, shall shout as they 
bring in His sheaves. He will turn again their captiv- 
ity, and wipe away all tears from their eyes. This Sun- 
day Jubilate, with its joyful noise to the Lord, stands 
here in the Church Year, as a pledge to all who sigh 
in captivity and who sow in tears, of the eternal Jubi- 
late and rejoicing in Heaven, the harvest that never 
fails, the "hope that maketh not ashamed." Amen. 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

Cantate. 

Gospel : John 16, 5-15. 

Psalm 87: 

"His foundation is in the holy mountains. 
Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion 
More than all the dwelling of Jacob. 
Glorious things are spoken of thee, 

city of God. 

1 will make mention of Rahab and Babylon as among them 

that know me; 
Behold, Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia: 
This one was born there. 
Yea, of Zion it shall be said, 
This one and that one was born in her; 
And the Most High Himself will establish her. 
Jehovah will count, when He writeth up the peoples, 
This one was born there. 

They that sing as well as they that dance shall say, 
All my fountains are in thee." 

Hymns: 

197. Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken, v. 1, 2 and 4. 

198. The Church's One Foundation, v. If. 

200. Zion Stands With Hills Surrounded, v. 1 and 3. 

203. O Where Are Kings and Empires Now. v. 2. 

145. O Spirit of Life, Spirit of God. v. 1 and 6. 

146. Come, Holy Spirit, God and Lord! v. 2 and 6. 
135. O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing. v. 2 and 5. 
295. Blessing and Honor, and Glory and Power, v. 3f. 

"The New Song Unto the Lord." 

"Sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the 
Lord all the earth;" such is the exhortation of the 
sweet singer in Israel (Ps. 96). He sees God's people 
praising Him in the Temple, filling it with their re- 
sounding songs and the accompaniment of psaltery and 



280 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

harp. But in holy inspiration he looks forward to a 
time when all the earth shall sing unto the Lord and 
all peoples worship Him in the beauty of holiness. Yea, 
even the heavens shall rejoice, and the earth be glad, 
the sea roar and the fullness thereof, the fields be joy- 
ful and all the trees of the wood shall rejoice before the 
Lord (Ps. 96, llf ) . This is the prelude on earth to the 
New Song of the Lamb, which they who stand about 
His Throne will sing in eternity. 

"0 sing unto the Lord a new song: for He hath 
done marvelous things." From this Psalm (98) our 
Sunday receives its name Cantate, or "Sing ye." It 
bids us raise our hymns of praise and thanksgiving to 
God. That New Song above never comes to an end: 
the saints in light never weary of it. It is the eternal 
praise of the Lamb, who was slain for us, and who 
now reigns in glory. And our songs here below must 
never die out; in Church, home and heart, the praise 
of Him should go on, who made us the people of His 
possession, the sheep of His fold, and the heirs of His 
Kingdom. Especially in these days when there are so 
many light and trifling songs of the world, the people 
of God should raise this "new song unto the Lord," 
which all the earth shall yet sing. And especially in 
this Easter season, when it is Springtime in the 
Church, as well as in the earth about us, we must wish 
with the old German hymn for "a thousand tongues," 
or with John Mason : 

"O that I had an angel's tongue, 

That I might loudly sing 

The wonders of Redeeming Love, 

To Thee, My God and King." G. C. Bk. No. 103. 

Of this our Sunday Cantate speaks, and that we 
may sing with the spirit and understanding, and make 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 281 

melody in our hearts unto the Lord, we have chosen 
this song of the Sons of Korah as our text, which tells 
us first 

The Why and Wherefore of This New Song. 

The children of the world have their songs of many 
kinds, which they sing quite merrily. With these they 
do honor to the idols they serve, as once the camp of 
Israel danced and sang about their Golden Calf. With 
them they celebrate the achievements of their heroes, 
as the women of Israel sang : 

"Saul has slain his thousands; 
But David his tens of thousands." 

Their songs often boast of warlike deeds, as 
Lamech's horrid measures told his two wives how he 
had avenged himself and slain the young man who 
wounded him (Gen. 4, 23). The songs of the world 
are always of the earth earthy; they know nothing 
of the Living God and of joy in Him. Only now and 
then does someone, like Kipling in his Recessional, 
open his mouth to rebuke those who "Put their trust in 
smoking tube or reeking shart," and to pray : 

"Lord, God of Hosts, be with us yet, 
Lest we forget, lest we forget." 

The Church of Jesus Christ also has her songs of 
many kinds. Now we hear within her walls a mourn- 
ful Kyrie: "Lord, have mercy upon us;" and then a 
glad Te Deum, or the "Glory be to God on High." Now 
we lament over Him, who "bore our griefs and carried 
our sorrows" (Is. 53, 4) ; and again with the Psalmist 
(45) our heart "overfloweth with a goodly matter, and 
we sing of our King who is fairer than the children of 
men; grace is poured into His lips, and God hath 



282 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

blessed Him for ever." Here the burden of the song is 
ever the same, whether we 

"Show forth His love by morning light, 
Or talk of all His truth at night." 

whether we raise our Hosanna in Advent, our Kyrie in 
Lent, or our Easter Hallelujah. Our song is ever of 
the City, whose walls are Salvation, and of Him who 
is its King. Our text speaks of this in the opening 
verses, of the Church which is "His Foundation in the 
holy mountains, of the gates of Zion which He loves 
more than all the dwellings of Jacob, and the glorious 
things spoken of thee, City of God." In the Hebrew 
"His" begins the Psalm abruptly, and thus announces 
that God's City and the things of God are its theme. 
This is also the why and wherefore of our new song. 

Once Jerusalem, the City of the Great King, sat 
proudly upon her many hills, and the festival proces- 
sions which went up thither sang: "As the mountains 
are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about 
His people, from this time forth and even for ever 
more." And so the children of God rejoice today in 
their City, the Church of the Living Christ, whose 
foundation He laid in the Holy Mount of the Cross, 
where He bowed His dying head and said: "It is fin- 
ished;" and in Mount Olivet, whence He ascended to 
the right hand of the Father, to rule over all as the 
King of Glory. That is the solid foundation for all 
our songs of joy. 

The Psalmist rejoices furthermore that: 

"The Lord loveth the gates of Zion 
More than all the dwellings of Jacob." 

These gates with their towers were the defense of 
the old-time walled city ; when they fell into the hands 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 283 

of the enemy, then the whole city was lost and at his 
mercy. By the Lord's love for the gates of Zion the 
Psalmist means to say that He will keep and defend 
His people from all their foes, and bless them for ever. 
How much to be envied is that heart, which amid all 
its battles against the evils in the world and our flesh, 
the enmity of man, and the troubles of earth, dwells 
behind such gates! Only such a one can sing aright 
the 46th Psalm, Luther's Psalm, that Psalm of Holy 
Confidence : 

"God is our Refuge and Strength, 

A very present help in trouble. 

Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do change, 

"And though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas, 

Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, 

Though the mountains tremble with the swelling thereof. 

There is a river, the streams thereof make glad the city of 

God * * * 
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: 
God shall help her, and that right early." 

And with the Psalmist the children of God in all 
ages sing: 

"Glorious things are spoken of thee, 
O City of God." 

He has nothing to say about glorious words and 
ways of saying and singing them, about studied elo- 
cution and elaborate art, for it is in simple, plain words 
that these "glorious things" are best declared to the 
Church. That we know right well, who believe these 
things with all our heart, and taste and see how good 
they are. We are not disturbed in our faith by those 
who do not think them glorious at all. We know such 
do not understand them, because they have no share in 
them. It is not a mark of superior intelligence and re- 
finement to despise the glorious things spoken of the 



284 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

City of God, as some think, for these are the riches of 
God in all our poverty, light in our darkness, comfort 
in our sorrows, peace in our struggles, and life itself 
in the midst of death. And the chief of all these glori- 
ous things is that we have a Saviour, who forgives our 
sins and helps our infirmities, and whose greeting to 
us in every gathering gloom of earth is "Peace;" a 
Saviour who abolished death by His Resurrection, and 
by His Ascension to Heaven opened to us the many 
mansions in that Eternal City of God. Therefore the 
children of God sing and rejoice here in time and there 
on high forever And his is a poor, poverty-stricken 
heart indeed, who has not yet learned to join in this 
new song, and cannot keep with us this Sunday Can- 
tate. May all such earnestly seek, and thus surely find, 
a share in this new song of the children of God. In 
the second half of this Psalm we are told 

By Whom and How It Is Sung. 

The fourth verse makes plain that the new song 
will be sung far and wide. Whole peoples are to be 
born into Zion, begin to know the Lord, and join in 
this joyful song. Great and glorious as this promise 
is, it is no more so than its fulfillment. Think of that 
first Easter evening, when there were only ten anxious 
Apostles behind the barred doors, and the Master 
stepped into their midst. Think of the first Pentecost, 
when only a handful of disciples were gathered to- 
gether with one accord in the Temple, and the Holy 
Ghost was poured out upon them. From those days on 
this chorus of singers grew greater and greater. The 
walls and gates of Zion have spread far beyond Rahab 
(or Egypt) and Babylon, into the icy lands of the 
North and the burning deserts of the South, into the 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 285 

primeval forests of America and the lovely isles of 
the Seven Seas. Everywhere the new song of the 
children of God rises now in honor of Him who 
"washed us in His blood and cleaned us from our sins." 

In the next verses our Lord God is represented as 
a king taking a census of His people, and writing down 
all whose new birth in the Spirit makes them citizens 
of the City of God : 

"Behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia: 

This one was born there. 

Yea, of Zion it shall be said, 

This one and that one was born in her. 

Jehovah will count, when He writeth up the peoples, 

This one was born there! 

All such have their share in this joyful new song; 
this one and that one, one man after another. Here is 
some great ruler, like Joshua of old, who decides that, 
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord ;" and 
there is a poor beggar, like Lazarus, who finds God his 
hope and help in need. The learned and the plain alike 
sit down at the feet of Jesus and learn that great lesson, 
that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wis- 
dom," and that "The love of Christ passeth all knowl- 
edge." Even poor degraded savages have been reck- 
oned in here, who know only this, that they are sin- 
ners and that He is their Saviour. Here, too, are proud 
sons and daughters, who once wallowed in the mire of 
sin and grew weary of the husks, but have turned back 
again to their Father's House. And there are little 
children, who fold their hands and say : 

"Oft as I am tempted from the good to stray, 
Let me softly whisper: "What would Jesus say." 

What contrasts there are here ! Some have had a 
wonderful calling, like Paul ; and others splendid gifts, 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 



like Peter. In their religious experience and past his- 
tory, their social standing and spiritual estate the chil- 
dren of God will always greatly differ from one an- 
other. They will never be all alike, until the Master 
shall appear, and then they will all be like Him. Until 
then they will be "this one and that one," all kinds of 
men, and no one has a right to demand that they be 
exactly the same kind of people. God loves unity in 
diversity. 

Only in this are they alike, that with one mouth 
and as one man they confess: "The Most High will 
establish Zion." Among the true children of God, not 
one will boast of his own strength, or rely upon his 
own virtues; none expects salvation through his own 
merits and works. They all realize that they are mis- 
erable sinners ; and that the Most High must establish 
them. Their only boast is in His grace and goodness. 
In that confession of His might and mercy they are 
no longer "this one and that one," but they have all 
become one. And if any man would be one with them, 
he must cease to think of his own general decency 
among men, as if this amounted to anything in the 
sight of a Holy God. Only he can join heartily in this 
song, who looks for "salvation in none other," and 
knows there is no "other name under Heaven given 
among men whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4, 12). 
God grant that all of us may be born thus again in 
Zion, counted thus in the Lamb's Book of Life, and 
sing the New Song. 

In the closing verse the singers are represented as 
celebrating, one after another, their joy in the City 
of God ; they repeat in turn : 

"All my fountains (or springs) are in Thee." 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 287 

All that brings us grace and peace, we find in 
Zion, the Church of Christ. Our comfort and help 
comes from Christ's Gospel declared there, His Sacra- 
ments administered there, and the blessed fellowship 
of His believers we find there. Whether we celebrate 
the wonders of God's grace in the Church on our festi- 
val days, or gather in the school to teach and admon- 
ish one another as the Apostle exhorts, or plan and 
labor for the Church in some society, or share one an- 
other's joys and sorrows in our homes, as children of 
God, "All my springs are in thee." 

And this Sunday Cantate bids those learn this 
New Song unto the Lord, who know it not as yet. It 
needs no voice culture to sing it, but the heart culture 
of the Holy Comforter. Let him, who does not yet 
prefer Jerusalem above his highest joy on earth, seek 
and pray that all his springs may be in her. For those 
are only leaky cisterns which the world affords ; they 
will run dry in the hot hours of affliction, when we 
need them most. Only in the Church, the City of God, 
will we find the living fountains, which always satisfy 
our need and refresh our souls. And they will not fail 
us, until our pilgrimage ends at the River of the Water 
of Life proceeding from the Throne of God and the 
Lamb, and we lift our voices in that "New Song unto 
the Lord," for which Eternity itself will be none too 
long. Amen. 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

Rogate. 

Gospel : John 16, 23-30. 

I. Kings 3, 5-15: "In Gideon Jehovah appeared to Solomon 
in a dream by night; and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 
And Solomon said * * * Give Thy servant therefore an un- 
derstanding heart to judge Thy people, that I may discern be- 
tween good and evil; for who is able to judge this Thy great 
people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had 
asked this thing. * * * And I have also given thee that 
which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor, so that there 
shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days." 

Hymns: 

155. Enter, Lord, Thy Temple, v. 2f. 

277. Come, My Soul, Thy Suit Prepare, v. If. 

239. Lord of the Worlds Above, v. 2. 

279. Lord, Teach Us How to Pray Aright, vs. 1, 3, 4, 6. 

391. In the Hour of Trial, v. If. 

157. Our Blest Redeemer, Ere He Breathed, vs. 2 and 5. 

Our Prayers. 

"Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name," so 
our Lord addresses His disciples in the Gospel for this 
Sunday, and adds the promise: "Ask, and ye shall re- 
ceive, that your joy may be full." "Hitherto ye have 
asked nothing in My Name," so we might say to thou- 
sands who do not pray, and to some who do, but do 
not pray aright. There are many exclamations, sus- 
piciously like the curses of the world upon their lips, 
but few prayers ; much of idle talk, gossip, and slan- 
der ; many murmurs and complaints ; but little thanks- 
giving and real petition. Therefore this Sunday 
Rogate, or "Pray ye." 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 



It falls in the season of seedtime. When the fields 
were sown, this Sunday became the time when they 
marched in procession around them, and repeated such 
ancient prayers as the Litany in which we beseech God 
"To give and preserve to our use the fruits of the 
earth," and to deliver us "From pestilence and famine." 
And among our old German forefathers it was the cus- 
tom, before they began to cast the seed in the furrows 
of the field, to say, "We sow in Thy Name, Dear Father, 
Amen." And when they had finished sowing: "On 
God's behest our all doth rest." 

And when in the evening twilight the lamps were 
lit, they would pray that when these lights of earth 
faded, God would give them the Light of Eternity. 
Many of us have descended from that stock, who were 
always praying, and we should be proud of it. Yet 
among us there are Christians, baptized Christians, 
who seldom open their mouths to pray aright at morn- 
ing or evening, as they work or rest, in good days or 
evil. 

They have asked nothing in His Name ; have not 
prayed aright, asked too much of earth and too little 
of Heaven. So our Lord must still say to many believ- 
ing Christians. They may repeat the goodly prayers 
of the Church Book, or the Lord's Prayer at home; 
but it is often with their lips, and their heart is not 
in it; they do not think much of what they are say- 
ing. Many of us pray, but few with that humble spirit 
and Heavenly mind of the Master, which God prom- 
ises to hear. 

There is a meaningful legend of an old hermit, 
who whenever he thought he had prayed with the 
spirit and understanding, would drop a nut in a jar 



290 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

to keep count of such prayers. But when after a 
long time he opened it, he found to his shame that not 
many nuts were in it; and these were so old and 
dry, that only one kernel was fresh and good. How 
few of our prayers are worth such a count. How many 
are like those empty, worm-eaten nuts. If we would 
learn to pray aright, we may well study this prayer of 
the King of Salem in our text. To it God answered: 
"Yea and Amen," and granted it almost without a hear- 
ing. It shows us first, 

The Privilege of Prayer. 

Solomon had ascended the throne of his father, 
and would now thank God for all His goodness to him, 
and entreat His help for a prosperous reign. There- 
fore he goes to Gibeon, where they worshipped then, 
and offers sacrifices and a thousand burnt offerings 
upon the altar. After such a holy day there followed a 
holy night. The Lord appeared to him in a dream, and 
says : "Ask what I shall give thee." Solomon had now 
a right to ask God what his heart desires, for God has 
commanded and encouraged him to do so. 

Sometimes this privilege of prayer is challenged, 
and our right questioned. They tell us that God's will 
is fixed and never changes, and therefore our prayers 
can not alter His plans and purposes. But these wise- 
acres forget, that God foreknows our prayers and 
reckons them into his plans and purposes from the be- 
ginning. Again they object: Surely the great God 
who rules all the earth, can not concern Himself about 
our small affairs and little sorrows in it. Yet our Lord 
declares: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? 
And not one of them shall fall on the ground without 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 291 

your Father : but the very hairs of your head are all 
numbered." None of these objections raised by hu- 
man reason trouble us. They have all been answered 
long ago. 

The God who appeared to Solomon, comes to us 
also, and by His Son says : "Ask, and it shall be given 
you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be 
opened unto you." (Mat. 7, 7.) Note, that without 
prayer we are to receive nothing from His hand, much 
as we may desire it. But when we pray, all the 
store-houses of His treasures stand open before us. 
Earthly kings set a limit to the things they will and 
can grant. Herod bound himself only to the half of 
his kingdom in granting Salome's request. But the 
Almighty fixes no limit. He said to Solomon simply: 
"Ask what I shall give thee," no matter what it is. 
With that He sets before Him all the treasures in the 
Kingdom of Heaven from which to choose. And so He 
comes to us in His Holy Word again and again, ad- 
monishing us to ask, that He may bestow upon us His 
good and perfect gifts. Let us then call upon Him dil- 
igently in the days of trouble, in sickness, in our busi- 
ness difficulties, and every hour of need. In doing this 
we have all the promises of Holy Writ as a sound 
foundation upon which to stand. We have a right to 
pray, and no doubting mocker should hinder us from 
the use of this privilege. But we must learn to order 
aright 

The Contents of Our Prayers. 

God here tests the heart of this youthful monarch. 
What might he not have asked? Long life, great 
riches, victory over all foes, honor and power, fell 
lay before him ; he had only to reach out his hand after 



292 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

them. Who knows what we would have chosen in such 
a moment as this ? But it did not take Solomon many- 
days to decide; he needed little time to consider. He 
asks the one thing needful for a king : "an understand- 
ing heart." He must judge a great nation, and how 
can he render just judgment without understanding 
each case, yes, and something more : the Law and Truth 
of God by which all must be decided. So Luther was 
not far wrong, when he makes Solomon ask for "an 
obedient heart." 

And for this he asks in the right way. He prays 
with heartfelt humility. He calls himself but a little 
child, who knows not "how to go out or come in," and 
how to order his dealings with this great people. In- 
deed he makes himself smaller in the eyes of God than 
he really is. He is not a child, but a young man of 
about 20 years. Shortly before David died, he con- 
sulted with Solomon about several old enemies, whom 
he had dealt with entirely too leniently, and who still 
lived to make trouble. It ended with his leaving them 
in Solomon's charge: "Thou art a wise man and thou 
wilt know what thou oughtest to do unto them." And 
in the same chapter (2, 9 and 44) we read of how 
the swift justice of Solomon fell upon these who had 
long deserved it by their crimes, and the peace of the 
kingdom was established in the fear of God. But be- 
fore the Lord, Solomon counted himself a little child, 
and felt he had not grown up enough for the great task 
before him. Israel was so great a people that they 
could not well be counted; moreover God had chosen 
them to be the people of his own possession. To rule 
such a people was a high and holy office indeed. Their 
very multitude would make it difficult, and much more 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 293 

the task of keeping them walking in the way of God's 
commandments. Such was Solomon's prayer, humble 
and wise. 

Let none of us think, because he is plain John 
Smith, that he has no need to pray in this same fashion. 
Our calling and place among men may be a small and 
insignificant thing. Yet in the eyes of God we fill the 
same high and holy office as Solomon. We are called 
to the Kingdom of God, anointed with the Holy Ghost, 
and will one day receive the crown of life. John says, 
Christ "hath made us kings and priests unto God." As 
kings we are to rule for Him,, and as priests to serve 
Him, in heart, home, calling, and in the Church of 
Christ. That too is a high office and a hard one. So 
like Solomon we may well consider the difficulties and 
temptations we must meet, and our weakness and sin- 
ful folly, in which we know not how to go out or to 
come in. We too must ask for "an understanding 
heart." That we all need, if as good servants of 
Jesus Christ we are to bring forth the fruits of 
righteousness, and show forth His praises by our 
words and works. 

If we really mean to fill our high office as kings 
and priests unto God, in this indifferent world, in this 
sinful flesh, and with the Devil opposing, we will find 
that we have undertaken a task every bit as hard as 
Solomon's rule over that great and stiff-necked Israel. 
For such a Christian life it is not money and prop- 
erty, honors, health, and happiness we need, but above 
all a "heart which understands" ourselves in all our 
weakness, the folly of sin, and God's holy law and will. 
The contents of our prayer must always be a patient 
heart, and one not so ready to murmur and raise a 



294 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

disturbance; a willing heart, and one not rebellious 
when God's orders run counter to our wishes, pride, 
or lazy flesh; a heart that is "obedient even unto 
death," as our Lord Jesus was. If we ask for earthly- 
things beside this, we must do so in our Lord's way, 
which He taught us in the Garden : "Nevertheless not 
My will, but Thine be done." Those words are a 
standing rebuke to what is falsely called "Christian" 
Science, or "Faith" cure, and which would jostle His 
elbow, and force Him to give us what we want, in- 
stead of what He chooses for us in His wisdom and 
love. But an "understanding heart," which would 
serve Him and our fellow men aright, we may ask for 
with the confident assurance that He will surely grant 
our prayer. For that is a prayer in His Name, a prayer 
fit for His holy Body, the Church, a prayer which His 
Spirit prays within us. 

The Rich Blessing of Such Prayer. 

Of Solomon's prayer we read: "It pleased the 
Lord that Solomon had asked this thing." The Lord 
gave him what he desired: a wise and understanding 
heart. There was none like him in his day, as he 
judged Israel so wonderfully, wrote the 3,000 Proverbs 
and 1,000 songs, knew all about the beasts, birds, and 
fish; and the plants from the cedar of Lebanon to the 
hyssop which springeth from the wall. The Queen of 
Sheba came to learn from Solomon wisdom for herself, 
and went away, saying that the half had not been told 
her. You will recall how he found out which mother 
had a right to the child, about whom the two women 
quarreled, by proposing to divide it into a dead half 
for each, with the sword; at which the real mother 
was ready to yield the living child to her rival. As 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 295 

this third chapter concludes the story, it declares : "The 
wisdom of God was in him, to do justice." And there 
is a legend of how he distinguished some wonderfully- 
perfect artificial flowers from the real ones, by open- 
ing the window and letting the bees tell the true from 
the false. So wisely did Solomon reign, that the people 
of the East speak of his glorious reign to this day. 
And there is no civilized nation today, where his 
proverbs are not quoted. Thus did the Lord answer 
his prayer. And beside this, God gave him gifts He 
had not asked for : riches, honor, victory over his foes, 
the Temple on Mt. Moriah and the palace of cedar wood 
which stood there. The chapters which follow, and 
Jerusalem for centuries after, tell of the glory of his 
magnificent reign. God even gave him a new name: 
Jedidiah, or the Beloved of the Lord. 

And what was a special gift for Solomon has be- 
come in the New Testament God's rule, His regular 
way of dealing with us. He who seeks a wise and un- 
derstanding heart, shall have it from the Lord, and 
more too. The promise is : "Seek ye first His Kingdom, 
and His righteousness; and all these things shall be 
added unto you." (Mat. 6, 33.) God does not tell us 
whether it will be chiefly riches, or honor, or long life. 
You know how on Christmas and birthdays our friends 
delight to give us more and better things than we ex- 
pected. And our God loves to surprise us also. He 
says these things of earth shall be added; they will fall 
into our laps as we seek His Kingdom and righteous- 
ness. That is the rich blessing which follows our 
prayer; and with such promises God would encourage 
us to walk and talk with Him amid this unbelieving 
and sinful world. Meanwhile, those who are minded 



296 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

to be rich, or think they know better than God just 
what measure of health and riches, or length of days is 
best for them, get little in answer to their prayers, for 
those are not believing prayers. The blessings prom- 
ised in His Word belong only to such prayers as Sol- 
omon's, which alone are fit for a holy body like the 
Church, and winged by the Spirit from out hearts, 
bring down rich blessings from high Heaven. 

But let us not forget the solemn warning of Sol- 
omon's life. There was a condition attached to these 
added gifts: "If thou wilt walk in My ways, to keep 
My statutes and commandments, as thy father David 
did walk, then I will lengthen thy days." As he grew 
older, Solomon did not trust God to make him great 
among the kings of earth, but after the fashion 
of his time married many wives to strengthen his al- 
liances with the neighboring nations; and these in- 
clined his heart after strange gods. His heart was not 
perfect before the Lord, as David's had been. There- 
fore he only lived sixty years, and the glory of his 
kingdom was not handed down to his grandchildren. 
In the reign of Rehoboam the kingdom was divided, 
and the Ten Tribes taken from him. 

Each petition we ask of God must bind us the 
closer to Him in holy living and godly service ; and each 
gift He grants us quickens us to greater obedience and 
faithfulness, lest He takes His grace and blessing from 
us. Solomon's example, as well as his prayer, reminds 
us of our need of an understanding heart, that we may 
walk in His ways and be blessed. In our Christian day 
and land it ought to be far easier for us to keep our- 
selves unspotted from the world, which so sadly soils 
the stories of David and Solomon. Poor sinners though 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 297 

we are, God is not demanding of us an impossible con- 
dition here, when He bids us walk before Him as 
Father David did. That is no high goal of perfect 
sinlessness. David is our example in this, that he never 
hardened his heart against the Lord, but though he 
fell into sin, he rose again from it in a speedy, humble, 
and honest repentance. Because of this, he is set 
before Solomon and us, as a model. We can follow 
David's footsteps, who with human frailty, yet with 
all his heart walked in God's ways and kept His statutes 
and commandments. For we have an Ascended Lord, 
who sends His Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts 
abundantly through His Word and Sacrament in the 
Church on earth. Therefore let us pray for wise and 
understanding hearts, to live in God's Kingdom and 
serve Him in righteousness of life ; for we have a bet- 
ter assurance than Solomon's dream, that to us "shall be 
added all these things" we need for our earthly life, 
when we have laid hold on the one thing needful for 
the Life to Come. Amen. 



THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD. 
Gospel: Mark 16, 14-20. 

Ps. 68, 18-20: 

"Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led away captives; 

Thou hast received gifts among men, 

Yea, among the rebellious also, that Jehovah God might dwell 

with them. 
Blessed be the Lord, who daily beareth our burden, 
Even the God who is our Salvation. 
God is unto us a God of deliverances; 
And unto Jehovah the Lord belongeth escape from death." 

Hymns: 

120. See the Conqueror Mounts in Triumph, v. 1 and 4. 

122. A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing. v. 1. 

124. Draw Us to Thee, Lord Jesus. 

128. O Christ, Our Hope, Our Heart's Desire, v. 3 and 6. 

133. Hark! Ten Thousand Harps and Voices, v. If. 

383. The Son of God Goes Forth to War. v. 2 and 4. 

Our Lord's Ascension. 

Our Lord's Ascension was foreshadowed already 
in the Old Testament. We have a type of it in Enoch, 
who "walked with God ; and he was not ; for God took 
him." (Gen. 5,24.) And again we read that Elijah 
"went up into heaven by a whirlwind." (II Kings 2, 
11.) And yet again the entrance of the High Priest 
year by year into the Holy of Holies is spoken of in 
Hebrews as a picture of Him, who entered not into 
holy places made with hands, which are but figures of 
the true, but into Heaven itself to appear in the 
presence of God for us. 

The Ascension of our Lord was also foretold in the 
Old Testament in so many words. Micah calls Him 



THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD 299 

the Breaker, or Pathfinder (2,13) ; the Fourty-seventh 
Psalm (v. 5) says: "God is gone up with a shout"; 
but our text is the clearest of these prophecies. Though 
first of all it is a song of David, because his people's 
enemies are overthrown, yet Paul writing to the 
Ephesians (4, 8) applies these words to our Lord: 

"When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, 
And gave gifts to men." 

So Luther has rightly headed this Psalm "A 
Prophecy of Christ's Ascension and Glorious Power." 
Here, as always, the New Testament is the proper 
commentary to explain the Old. In its light these 
words of David become wonderfully clear and mean- 
ingful. They speak of our Lord's Ascension, and 
first of 

What His Ascension Means. 

The Israelites were victorious over their foes. The 
Lord was their sword and the strength of their arm, 
their Helper in battle. He had come down from Heaven 
to fight for His People and scatter their enemies. The 
ark of the Lord, which Israel had carried down into the 
battle, is now borne up Mt. Zion, and set in its holy 
place. David sees in this a prophecy of how the Messiah, 
when His work on earth is finished, will return to the 
throne of His glory in Heaven. So he and his thank- 
ful people sing this song, which has a meaning for the 
past and the future as well: "Thou hast ascended on 
high, Thou hast led away captives." Their foes had 
been overcome with God's help. "Thou hast received 
gifts among men." The booty Israel had taken, be- 
came a gift to the Lord, the involuntary gift of these 
foes. And this victory Israel had won, was a pledge to 



300 THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD 

the royal singer, that the Lord God would continue to 
dwell among them (v. 19), and that His Kingdom 
should stand fast forever. 

David's song, even in its smallest particular may 
stiU be our festival song, as we remember our Lord's 
Ascension. We stand on Mt. Olivet. We see our Lord 
with outstretched hands blessing the disciples for the 
last time. The cloud receives Him up out of their 
sight. He ascends to Heaven. Once He had come 
down from those Heavenly heights to this poor earth. 
He lay as a Babe in the manger at Bethlehem. He 
walked this earthly vale of sorrow, and even the val- 
ley of death. He struggled and suffered in this poor 
world of siners, and He won the day. Now the great 
Servant of Jehovah returns to His Father and the 
glory He had with Him before the world began. He 
ascends far above the stars to the eternal Father-house, 
where the many mansions are, and the Almighty God 
sits on the throne of His Majesty. And God Himself 
bids Him sit at His right hand, far above principal- 
ities and powers and every name in the world to come. 
As we gaze after Him reverently and adoringly, we cry 
with David : "Thou hast ascended on high." 

But David adds: "Thou hast led away captives." 
When a victorious king of the olden time came back 
from battle, it was the custom to lead before his chariot 
in triumphal procession his captives loaded with 
chains. There you might see the king of the hostile 
land, whom he had captured ; the general of that army 
he had outwitted; and the noblest men and women of 
the defeated people. It was thus that Germanicus 
dragged through the streets of Rome the pure and 
high-minded Thusnelda, the wife of Hermann, who 



THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD 301 

first united the German tribes, and set them free. But 
who are the captives to grace the triumph of our Holy 
Saviour and Ascended Lord? The first is no such 
noble figure as she, who won the admiration of her 
licentious captors by her beauty and purity. It is an 
ugly, unclean form we see there. Christ has over- 
come Sin, and redeemed us from her sorcery by His 
holy blood. Next comes a mighty giant, whom all of 
us fear to meet, and He alone could face without fall- 
ing. It is Death, whom He stripped of his power by 
His Resurrection. Before His chariot wheels goes also 
the prince of this world, the Devil. He is judged now 
and become a by-word. They may gnash their teeth 
as they will ; they are utterly overcome ; He leads them 
captive. 

And who are they, who walk behind the chariot 
of the King of Glory? A great multitude follows, 
with whom He divides the spoils: the ten thousand 
times ten thousand, whom He has redeemed by His suf- 
ferings and death, and who now glorify His Holy 
Name. They are no more in chains; their cords are 
cast from them, in which once they were holden : the 
lusts of the flesh, the defiant and desperate wickedness 
of the natural heart, its love for the world, and lack of 
all peace. They walk behind the Gospel chariot, and 
raise here in the Church below their hallelujahs of re- 
joicing. They stand about His throne above, in white 
robes and with palms in their hands. They serve Him 
day and night in His temple. They sing: "Worthy is 
the Lamb, who was slain, to receive riches, and wis- 
dom, and power, and honor, and glory, and blessing." 
And we too, if we are persuaded of His worth and won 
over to His side, may sing with them unto our King, 



THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD 



who leads us away the blessed captives of His Ascen- 
sion. 

But we have here a cause for louder thanksgiving 
in that, He has "received gifts among men." These 
are not for Himself, since He has no need of them, who 
shares the glory of God. For men He has received 
them, and among His believing brethren of mankind 
He shares them with generous hand. What are these 
gifts? We might name a host of them for body and 
soul, which we owe to Him, for out of His fullness have 
all we received and grace for grace. Shall we say: 
righteousness and peace in the Holy Ghost, or forgive- 
ness of sin, life, and salvation. No, at this season we 
may sum them all up in one, the gift of the Holy Ghost, 
He, who has that, has all the others too. All else in 
our spiritual life grows out of His saving power in our 
hearts; and all in our earthly life out of His wisdom 
which enlightens our minds. To this Holy Spirit we 
owe our Christian civilization, our hospitals and heal- 
ing for the body, our inventions and all the progress 
we boast in today. 

Now generally, when a man rises high above his 
fellows, he forgets the poor and lowly among whom 
his lot was once cast. But not so our Lord Jesus! 
Even at the right hand of the Father, He remembers 
His brethren down in earth's vale. The Son of Man 
on the throne in Heaven still has a heart for the chil- 
dren of men on earth. He feels for them, intercedes 
for them, and prays for them, even as His hands were 
lifted to bless them as He ascended. And from His 
exalted throne He sends down the fullness of the gifts 
received for them. 

None need despair of His help, and feel that per- 



THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD 303 

haps because of past disobedience and unfaithfulness 
they are forgotten. For here it is written, that "His 
gifts are even for the rebellious!" That is a golden 
promise, and fills us with great comfort. Though we 
have often forgotten Him, He is still willing to visit 
us in this Pentecostal Season, pour upon us His Holy 
Spirit, teach and reprove, sanctify and comfort us. 

And His gifts are not for us alone, but for this 
whole world of sinners. His Ascension took place, that 
He might rule in all the earth, as well as in Heaven, 
and "dwell with men." The unbelieving may despise 
and attack His Holy Word, deny His miracles, mock 
His Name, and oppose His Kingdom; but the very 
gates of Hell shall not prevail against this Church, 
whose Head is in Heaven that He may dwell and rule 
everywhere. Again and again is this written in the 
Psalms : 

"Ask of Me, and I will give thee the nations for Thine inheritance, 
And the uttermost parts of the Earth for Thy possession." 

And again : 

"Sit Thou at My right hand, 

Until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." 

It is for this He ascends into Heaven, and sits at the 
right hand of God, from whence He rules the world, 
and shall come to judge the quick and the dead. This 
is most certainly true. And now our text closes with 
directions, as to how, 

We May Celebrate His Ascension Aright. 

"Blessed be the Lord," it exhorts. We celebrate 
this event by praising and blessing God, as did the 
Apostles. Of them it is expressly written, that after 



304 THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD 

their Lord's Ascension "They worshipped Him, and 
returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and were con- 
tinually in the Temple, blessing God." (Luke 24, 52.) 

And when we read our text more carefully, we 
find it saying : "Who daily beareth our burdens." Only 
once in the year do we celebrate the Ascension; only 
in one season do we sing the hymns of the Ascension. 
But the rejoicing over it is to resound through the 
whole year, echo on in our hearts, and hallow and 
purify our whole life. Paul tells us how our Lord's 
Ascension ought to be celebrated, and commands, that 
not on one day in the year, but every day of our lives 
we should "Seek those things that are above, where 
Christ is, seated on the right hand of God." (Col. 3, 
1.) Our every-day walk and conversation ought to 
be in Heaven, and we should feel each day the lifting up 
of our hearts by the Christ, Himself lifted up on high. 
We ought daily to walk Heavenward in His footsteps, 
seeking His kingdom of Righteousness, and never for- 
getting, among the many things which line the way, 
the great goal at the end. That is our spiritual As- 
cension, out of the dust of earth and the mire of sin, 
which we may and should keep every day. Then we 
can rejoice, that "God hath raised us up with Him, and 
made us to sit with Him in the Heavenly places, in 
Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2, 6.) 

And this blessing of God is to continue, even when 
dark days come into our life. David does not deceive 
himself when he sings this song of praise unto the 
Lord. He knows that he and his people have yet 
many a hard battle to fight. David did not say God 
would always "load us with benefits." Luther rend- 
ered it: "Who lays a burden on us." And the full, 



THE ASCENSION OF OLK LORD 305 

exact translation of his words appear in our Revised 
Version : "Who daily beareth our burden," and "is the 
God of our salvation." We too know something of 
burdens. We have felt their weight before, and will 
again after the Ascension Day is past. Just what 
they will be none of us knows. God may lay upon us 
poverty, so that we ask anxiously : "What shall we eat, 
and wherewithal be clothed?" It may be that 
unrighteous enmity will trouble and harm us; 
or weakness of body may bind us to our bed in sick- 
ness ; or the loss of those dear to us may face us some 
day. 

But when such days come, let us bear their bur- 
dens like Anna, the wife of the Saxon Elector. Of the 
fifteen children she brought into the world, she had fol- 
lowed twelve to the grave. How she bore her burdens, 
you may judge from the fact that this verse was her 
motto in the form Luther gave it: 

"God lays a burden on us, 
But he helps us as well." 

Let us also write it deep in our hearts, and then in 
days of trouble we 

"Will lift up our eyes unto the mountains; 

From whence shall my help come? 

My help cometh from Jehovah, 

Who made heaven and earth." (Ps. 121, 1.) 

Our Helper is that Ascended Lord in Heaven, He 
can help, because "all power is given unto Him in 
Heaven and in earth." He will help, because He is 
our Merciful High Priest. 

And David remembers also that last day on earth, 
which God appoints us, and shows how the light of the 
Ascension Day streams out into the Valley of Death: 



306 THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD 

"God is unto us a God of deliverances. And unto 
Jehovah the Lord belongeth escape from death." 
He is not speaking now of our spiritual As- 
cension, but of the bodily Ascension to Heaven, which 
shall follow for us. The little birds flap their wings 
a great deal upon the edge of their nest, before they 
mount aloft in the air. And when our souls are done 
struggling thus, up out of the dust of earth and the 
mire of sin, the time will come when they will "mount 
up with wings like eagles," whither this One has gone 
before us. Godly Stephen, as he died beneath the 
stones of his persecutors, "saw the heavens opened, 
and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of 
God." (Acts 7, 56.) And with his face shining like 
an angel's he prayed : "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit !" 
So we, if we follow our Lord, after our spiritual as- 
cending, after this rising of the Soul above the lusts of 
the world and the flesh, shall share with Him this last 
blessed Ascension of soul and body to Heaven. Amen. 



THE SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION. 

Exaudi. 

Gospel: John 15, 26-16, 4. 

II. Kings 2, 8-12 : "And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped 
it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither 
and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it 
came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto 
Elisha, 'Ask what I shall do for thee, before I am taken from 
thee.' And Elisha said, 'I pray thee, let a double portion of 
thy spirit be upon me.' And he said, 'Thou hast asked a hard 
thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from 
thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.' 
And it came to pass as they still went on, and talked, that 
behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, 
which parted them asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirl- 
wind into Heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, 'My father, 
my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof!' " 

Hymns: 

120. See the Conqueror Mounts in Triumph, v. 1 and 3. 

122. A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing. v. 2. 

123. Thou Art Gone Up On High. v. 1. 

137. Where High the Heavenly Temple Stands, v. 3-5. 

127. Alleluia! Sing to Jesus, v. 2. 

146. Come, Holy Spirit, God and Word! vs. 1 and 3f. 

145. Spirit of Life, Spirit of God. vs. 1-4. 

155. Enter, Lord, Thy Temple, v. 2f and 5. 

The Holy Day Between Ascension and Pentecost. 

This is called the Orphan Sunday of the Church 
Year. The Ascension is past and the Lord Jesus has 
gone up on high. But the Day of Pentecost has not 
yet come, with its outpouring of the Holy Ghost. So 
on this Sunday the Church is left a lonely orphan on 
earth. Yet this too is a holy day, richly blessed as few 
others in the Church Year. It lies between the As- 



308 THE SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION 

cension and the Pentecost, like a quiet lovely valley be- 
tween two lofty and magnificent mountains. From it 
we look up to a wonderful Conqueror, who has ascend- 
ed in triumph to the Right Hand; and look up for a 
wonderful gift: the Spirit of Grace to be bestowed 
upon us poor orphans. We look back to the Ascension 
with praise and thanksgiving ; and look on to our Whit- 
suntide celebration with prayerful hope. The one tells 
of a Divine Guest on earth, who has returned to 
Heaven ; the other of a Heavenly Guest, who will come 
down to earth. What fullness of blessing there is in 
this day, with such an exchange of visits as its theme ! 
What communion and fellowship between Heaven and 
earth! It is a Jacob's ladder for the Christian heart 
to climb from this world to a better one ! 

We read of something like this in our O. T. text. 
It shows us how we should keep this holy day between 
the two great Festivals, first by 

Waiting With Prayerful Heart for the 
Heavenly Guest. 

Exaudi means : "Hear," Lord, when I cry with 
my voice. The very name, from the ancient Latin In- 
troit, turns our hearts Heavenward. These days of 
waiting for the Festival of Pentecost should be a season 
of much prayer for us, as they were for the disciples, 
when they had seen their Master caught up into 
Heaven. The good old preacher Hofacker reminds 
us, that even earthly kings were accustomed to mark 
their ascension to the throne with special gifts, and 
adds : "I am sure the King of Kings at this season of 
His Coronation will not deny the petitions we ask in 
humble faith." The apostles and the women spent 



THE SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION 309 

the days before Pentecost in making such requests; 
"these all continued with one accord in prayer." (Acts 
1, 14.) And we too must wait now with prayerful 
hearts for the Heavenly Gift and Guest. 

"Now our great Elijah offers 

Double portion of His grace." (No. 120, 3.) 

Our text tells us for what Elisha prayed in such 
days. He had crossed the Jordan with Elijah, and 
knew that his master would shortly be taken from his 
side. When the master says: "Ask what I shall do 
for thee, before I am taken from thee," the servant 
cries : "I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be 
upon me." Note that he is not asking for twice as 
much of the Spirit of God, as his great master had. 
He is referring to a custom in Israel where the first- 
born son received twice as much as any of the others. 
He is only one of Elijah's sons in the ministry, but 
one who desires the double portion of an elder son from 
this spiritual father: all he can inherit of his spirit 
of faith and power. He is not more greedy than the 
other sons the prophet trained in his school; but he is 
more humble, and feels how much he lacks of being 
a worthy successor to this beloved master. He would 
be, not an ordinary follower of his, but just as fearless 
as Elijah was before Ahab, the idol-worshipping Jez- 
ebel, and her blind priests and followers; as faithful 
in holding to the Living God as Elijah was when all 
Israel had forsaken Jehovah ; as obedient at God's com- 
mand to go from the palace to the desert, to the home 
of the poor widow, or the Brook Cherith, where there 
were only ravens to feed God's prophet; and he would 
prevail in prayer, as Elijah did, when he broke the 
long drought with a refreshing rain, called down light- 



310 THE SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION 

ening from Heaven upon that sacrifice to Jehovah on 
Carmel, and called back to life the widow's dead son. 

But what shall our prayer be in these days, when 
our Ascended Master bids us: "Ask what I shall do 
for thee." Must it not be almost in the very words of 
Elisha, for the gift of His Holy Spirit? We entreat 
of Him that Spirit of Grace, who brings and keeps us 
in the loving favor of God; that Spirit of Adoption, 
who bears witness in our hearts that we are the chil- 
dren of God; that Spirit of Faith, who plants and re- 
plenishes faith in our souls ; of Truth, because He leads 
us into all truth ; and of Prayer and Praise, because 

"Tis Thou. O Spirit, teachest 
The soul to pray aright; 
Thy songs have sweetest music, 

Thy prayers have wondrous might." No. 155, v. 3. 

And we need Him as the Spirit of Power, because He 
strengthens us in a holy walk and Christian life, add- 
ing to our faith virtue, knowledge, self-control, pa- 
tience, godliness, brotherly kindness, love. (II Peter 
1, 5-7.) 

And we too may entreat with Elisha, " a double 
portion" of this Sevenfold Spirit of the Christ. For 
it is written in the Psalm (81, 10) : 

"Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." 

The more we ask, the more our God will give, if 
like Elisha we entreat Him in true humility. Indeed 
we may ask more confidently than this O. T. prophet. 
He asks, when Elijah is about to be taken from him. 
But our Ascended Master, instead of being taken from 
us, is now "with us always," brought nearer in spirit- 
ual presence and power than before. And he prom- 



THE SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION 311 

ised us that after His departure He would send us the 
Comforter, and that His Father would give the Holy 
Spirit to them that ask Him. But Elijah dare not 
make any promise; he can only say: "If thou see me 
when I am taken away from thee, it shall be so unto 
thee ; but if not, it shall not be so." In short, we are 
now to have "whatsover we ask of the Father in His 
Name." In these days we also 

Look With Longing Hearts to Our 
Ascended Master. 

The master-prophet and his disciple have crossed 
the Jordan, and are journeying on together, talking 
by the way. And as they go side by side, a chariot of 
fire parts them asunder, and Elijah is swept up to 
Heaven by a whirlwind. Elisha sees this, and cries: 
"My father, my father, thou art the chariots of Israel 
and the horsemen thereof." Only a few words he 
speaks, as he looks longingly after him, but these are 
full of meaning. They are his last loving farewell to 
his father in the Lord, his best friend, and tell how 
he loved and longed to retain him, who was Israel's 
best defence. In his great sorrow he takes hold of 
his mantle, and tears it in two after the demonstrative 
fashion of the Orient. 

On this Sunday lies already the sunshine of the 
Pentecost. We pray for that blest Spirit of the Tri- 
une God, whom we need so much- and in so many ways. 
But on it falls also the glory of the Ascension. We too 
gaze after One, who has gone up from the midst of 
the Church on earth, One who is far more for us, than 
that man of God, Elijah, ever could be for his disciple. 
He is our Friend and Good Physician, our Saviour and 



312 THE SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION 

King, the High Priest and Bridegroom of our souls. 
How longingly the disciples gazed after Him, as He 
departed into Heaven. And so we too look, mourning 
that He is no more with His Church on earth as before. 
We strain our eyes to see Him, and our ears to hear 
His voice. We understand why Elisha in his sorrow 
rends his mantle. 

He told us that in the world we should have sor- 
row, and every day we experience something of this. 
Our sinful weakness causes us much sorrow, rendering 
our conscience restless and our heart peaceless. The 
children of this world add to this sorrow of ours, be- 
cause they hate His name and truth. The cares and 
suffering of this poor life in the flesh pile our sorrows 
higher. To whom shall we look for comfort and help 
in our sorrows?. The Psalmist says (20, 7) : 

"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; 

But we will make mention of the name of Jehovah, our God." 

We may well speak of our Ascended Lord as "the 
chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof" ; and be- 
seech Him to defend us from the enmity of the world, 
keep us from sin, and deliver us from all evil. As we 
look longingly up to Him, we are thus comforted in all 
our sorrows and strengthened in every struggle. Ex- 
audi, hear, Lord, when I cry: this means that the 
prayers of longing hearts on earth at this season rise 
to our Ascended Lord in Heaven. But beside this we 
must not forget to 

Cherish With Thankful Hearts His Gifts. 

Elijah's mantle fell from him, as he went up in 
the whirlwind to Heaven. Elisha took it up with joy. 
It was a precious keepsake and valuable bequest from 



THE SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION 313 

his beloved master. This was the mantle which Elijah 
had cast upon him, as he plowed in the field, and thus 
called him into the ministy. (I Kings 19, 19.) With 
this mantle Elijah had just shown his power, for when 
he rolled it up, and smote the waters of Jordan, they 
went over it dry shod. (v. 8.) And now it becomes 
the master's pledge to Elisha, that his prayer is heard, 
and the mantle and spirit of this great leader shall fall 
upon him abundantly. And there was no mistake 
about this, for Elisha was a worthy successor to Elijah, 
and as he in his turn was departing from the earth, 
the king of Israel, Joash, wept over his illness, and ex- 
claimed just as Elisha had done before : "Father, my 
father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen there- 
of." (II Kings 13, 14.) 

But when we speak of our Master's gifts to us, 
we do not number among them His mantle. Rome 
pretends to have among her relics the very mantle 
Christ wore, but unfortunately for this pious deception, 
two cathedrals in Europe both claim that theirs is the 
genuine one. And since these rags are used in an 
idolatrous way, we want none of them. Even if Christ's 
true mantle had been preserved, it would have no vir- 
tue and blessing in it now. It was the Living Christ 
who gave it the power to heal. Him we still have, Ev- 
angelical Christians, with all the gifts bequeathed to 
us by His death on the Cross and His Ascension to 
Heaven. This Christ we have in His Word, the very 
thing Rome esteems so lightly, that she counts 150 
other books just as good or even better than the Bible. 
But for us it is His one great precious Heavenly gift, 
as He meant it should be. 

By this Word His Holy Spirit called us, whilst we 



314 THE SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION 

yet walked the ways of sin and ruin ; gathered us into 
these congregations which are the workshops of this 
Spirit; enlightened us to know our misery as sinners, 
and His grace as our Saviour; still strengthens and 
sanctifies us in our weakness and sorrow ; and will pre- 
serve us in the true faith unto His Heavenly Kingdom. 
This Word by which the Spirit works, is "the power of 
God unto salvation," and therefore we cherish it with 
thankful hearts, and strive to keep it in its power and 
purity, even when many about us weaken and water it 
down with their own poor ideas, and reason away 
its great doctrines. The explanation of the sensa- 
tional preaching of our day, is simply that the people, 
and the preacher too, do not value the Word aright, as 
the great gift of the Ascended Christ to His Church, 
but prefer the traditions of men to the doctrines of the 
Son of God, just as the Pharisees did in His day. Yet 
with all our carefulness about sound doctrine, our 
Lutheran people are also at fault here: they should 
hear the Word diligently in our churches, and read 
it more devoutly in their homes! 

The other great gifts of our Ascended Lord are 
His Sacraments, instituted just before His Death and 
Ascension. In His Baptism His Spirit gives us a sec- 
ond birth, makes us Christ's disciples, members of His 
great mystical Body, temples of His Holy Spirit and 
the heirs of His glory. We cherish this gift, in which 
there is so much of saving grace, and must always re- 
joice that we were thus brought to the Lord Jesus, 
and may bring others for the same new birth by water 
and the Spirit. And the best proof that we cherish it, 
will be our living out what Paul says of Baptism, that 
it buries us with Christ into His death to sin, and quick- 



THE SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION 315 

ens us to walk with Him in newness of life, as He 
was raised from the dead by the glory of God the 
Father. (Rom. 6, 4.) 

Again the Lord's Supper is a precious bequest 
from Him, who is true God as well as true man, and 
like its founder is a Heavenly Bread mysteriously 
joined to that of earth. It is an inexhaustible well- 
spring from which with the Spirit's help we draw 
"grace for grace," one bit after another; the true 
"Fountain opened to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for 
sin and for uncleanness." (Zech. 13, 1.) Therefore 
Godly men of old could not find figures of speech love- 
ly enough to describe this Sacrament. They called it 
the greatest and holiest of all the mysteries, the med- 
icine of immortality, the antidote for death and hope 
of resurrection, the shield for our faith and our armor 
against Satan, our incorruptible fare and Heavenly 
manna, the tonic for a troubled heart, the central leaf 
of the Gospel, our pearl of great price in this vale of 
sorrow. And we too cherish it with thankful hearts, 
as a Communion with the Living Christ and those who 
are His, His Supper, in which we sit at the Lord's Own 
Table, as we shall when we eat bread with Him in the 
Kingdom above. Let us then deem it holy, come to it reg- 
ularly, and walk worthily of the strength it gives us. The 
more thankfully we cherish His gifts, the more of life 
and salvation the Spirit will help us find in them for 
time and eternity. On this day there is joined to- 
gether our praise and thanksgiving for the gifts con- 
nected with His Ascension, and our prayers and hopes 
for the great gift of His Pentecost. Today then we 
cry : Exaudi, and beg Him to hear when we cry with 
our voices, for we have so much of thanksgiving and 
of petition to bring before the Throne of his grace. 



THE FESTIVAL OF PENTECOST. 

Whitsunday. 
Gospel: John 14, 23-31. 

Joel 2, 28-32: "And it shall come to pass afterward, that 
I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and 
your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, 
your young men shall see visions. * * * And it shall come to 
pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be 
delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be 
those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the rem- 
nant those whom Jehovah doth call." 

Hymns : 

153. 0, Holy Spirit, Enter In. v. 1. 
141. Lord God, the Holy Ghost! 

146. Come, Holy Spirit, God and Lord! v. 2. 

139. Let Songs of Praise Fill the Sky. v. If. 

154. Gracious Spirit, Dove Divine, v. 3. 

157. Our blest Redeemer, 'Ere he Breathed, v. 4f. 

550. Holy Spirit, Hear Us. v. 7. 

How Shall We Keep the Pentecost Festival? 

As Moses kept the flock of his father-in-law Jethro 
upon Mr. Horeb, the Lord appeared unto him in that 
bush which burned with fire and yet was not con- 
sumed. As he drew near to behold this strange thing, 
God called him by name and said: "Draw not nigh 
hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the 
place whereon thou standest is holy ground." (Ex. 3, 
5.) Such a Divine demand for reverence and awe 
now comes to us as we keep the Pentecost, and hear 
again the sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty 
wind, which filled the hall in Solomon's Temple where 



FESTIVAL OF PENTECOST. WHITSUNDAY. 317 

the disciples were assembled. We see the tongues of 
fire, cloven or branching out from one source to the 
head of each disciple. We hear them speak with 
tongues the mighty works of God. Once again the 
burning bush is before us, which we may not pry into 
with idle curiosity neither pass with indifference. We 
stand upon holy ground to hear what the Lord will re- 
veal and whereunto He will call us. 

Like those disciples and strangers we hear the 
preacher of the first Pentecost testify how "God hath 
made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom 
ye crucified." (Acts 2, 36.) We ask with them: 
"What shall we do? And the answer for us also is: 
"Repent ye and and be baptized every one of you in 
the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your 
sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 
For to you is the promise, and to your children, and 
to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our 
God shall call unto Him." 

It is the same message, which Joel brings us from 
the Old Testament. Our text is a prophecy of the 
Pentecost. We know this, because Peter quotes this 
passage in his great sermon. Joel bids us keep the 
Day with 

Thanksgiving for God's Grace. 

He fortells the Spirit poured out on all flesh, as it 
came to pass on this Day. It was not simply the 
Apostles, but the whole Church at Jerusalem, who were 
filled with the Holy Ghost. And believers at other 
places received the Spirit also after prayer and the 
laying on of hands by the Apostles. Even upon Cor- 



318 FESTIVAL OF PENTECOST. WHITSUNDAY. 

nelius, the heathen centurion, this gift is bestowed, as 
he listens devoutly to Peter's Gospel message. 

When Eldad and Medad prophesied in the camp 
of Israel, and Moses was urged by Joshua to forbid 
them ; he sighed : "Would that all Jehovah's people were 
prophets, that Jehovah would put His Spirit upon 
them." (Num. 11, 29.) What he longed for is now 
come to pass. The Pentecost gift is here for old and 
young, son and daughter, bond and free. Paul testifies 
of the congregation at Corinth : "To each one is given 
the manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal." One 
has wisdom, others knowledge, faith, miracles, proph- 
ecy, or different kinds of tongues. That same Spirit is 
still busy among us, fitting us out with different gifts 
and graces we may use in the service of God and our 
fellow-men. 

Let no one be deceived because the Spirit comes no 
longer with those wonderful signs of the first Pentecost. 
This is just the order that we find in Nature. On the 
morning of Creation God said: "Let there be light," 
and at once the light flashed forth out of darkness. At 
His word the grass and plants and fruitful trees sprang 
out of the earth; the sun, moon, and stars began to 
shine, and the earth, air, and water teemed with living 
creatures. But the wonders of Creation are repeated 
in a very different way today. Now seed-time and har- 
vest, summer and winter, day and night follow one an- 
other so gradually and quietly, that we hardly notice 
the change. Yet the same Almighty Hand which cre- 
ated, still upholds and orders these things of Nature. 
So the first Pentecost was the day of the New Creation. 
Therefore the rushing wind, the fiery tongues, and the 
wonderful gifts of speech. Yet the same Holy Spirit, 



FESTIVAL OF PENTECOST. WHITSUNDAY. 319 

now as then, is poured out on the Church of Christ, 
and blessed are they that have not seen and yet have be- 
lieved. When a babe is baptized in the Name of the 
Triune God and becomes a child of His, when the Word 
is preached, or the Holy Communion administered, when 
we sing "O Holy Spirit, enter in," it is the same Holy 
Spirit who is present with power and portions out His 
gifts to each as He wills. 

We must beware of that pride which expects for 
ourselves something out of God's ordinary way. We 
would all like the Kingdom of God to come with observa- 
tion ; would all like to look out into the future and see 
dreams and visions; but those are dangerous things, 
sharp-edged tools with which we would better not play. 
It ought to be enough for us to hold fast those sound 
words of the Catechism : "The Holy Ghost has called me 
through the Gospel, enlightened me by His gifts, and 
sanctified and preserved me in the true faith." Each 
preaching and teaching of the Word, with the forgive- 
ness of sins it declares and the peace and joy it brings, 
is a prophecy in the true Scriptural sense of that word, 
and prophecy enough for us, better far than visions and 
dreams. Luther rightly says: "What are such gifts, 
compared with this, that the very Spirit of God comes 
to dwell in our heart, and guide and govern us ?" Joel's 
prophecy with its dreams and visions may be summed 
up in one promise, the knowledge of God through Jesus 
Christ our Saviour. This is the gracious gift the Spirit 
brings us throught Word and Sacrament. After this 
goodly fashion He is still poured out upon all flesh, 
into every heart which seeks Him ; and He calls us to 
Christ, enlightens us to know our sinful selves and our 
loving Saviour, and sanctifies and preserves us in this 



320 FESTIVAL OF PENTECOST. WHITSUNDAY. 

true faith. This grace of God moves us to thanksgiving 
today, but also lest we despise it to 

Reverence and Awe Before His Gifts. 

That is the meaning of these portents: the sun 
turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the 
great and terrible Day of the Lord. They tell us of the 
judgments of a jealous God upon those who despise His 
Spirit and gifts. Israel must have recalled this picture 
after they had nailed their Saviour to the Cross, when 
the sun was darkened in midday, and there was darkness 
over the whole earth, the earth quaked and the rocks 
were rent and the graves opened, and from them came 
forth many prophets by whom the Spirit of God had 
spoken into the deaf ears of this people. And few years 
go by for us, without some reminder that God is abund- 
antly able to repeat among us such signs of His 
righteous wrath and judgment to come upon all who 
despise His Word and Spirit. 

These warnings were repeated for Israel, when 
their chief city was destroyed and the blood of their 
children, fire, and smoke filled the streets of Jerusalem. 
Again and again in the history of the nations, bloody 
fields of battle and cities smoking in their ashes have 
been God's rebuke for those who despised His Gospel 
and Spirit of peace. It is not hard for us to believe 
that worse days than these may yet come upon an un- 
believing world, days as red as blood and as hot as fire, 
stifling with smoke. Be not deceived; he that soweth 
to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption. Our 
text contains another of those warnings that the world 
will one day fall. That so solemn a message is joined 
to this ancient prophecy of God's good Spirit, shows 



FESTIVAL OF PENTECOST. WHITSUNDAY. 321 

plainly how God would drive us to a wholesome rev- 
erence for this Heavenly Guest, who alone can deliver 
us from His just judgments. Men's gifts and offers 
of help we may despise and reject if we will, but no 
one can treat God in that shameless fashion and go 
unpunished. He will not hold him guiltless. So does 
He admonish us to 

An Earnestness That Uses His Gifts 
for Our Solvation. 

Now the Prophet lets fall the finger lifted in 
warning, and speaks to us and all men in gentler tones : 
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call 
on the Name of Jehovah shall be delivered." Great 
and awful as the judgments of the Lord will be, there 
is one sure way of escape for the Church today, and 
those God will yet call into it, and that is to "call 
upon the Name of the Lord." Joel declares this, and 
Peter repeats it in his Pentecost sermon. We too must 
confess our faith in this promise. 

Of course, this calling upon the Lord is not the 
mere use of His Name by our lips, but must be the 
cry of the whole heart in true faith, The prophets 
and apostles mean by this calling upon the Lord, that 
with all humility and trust we should seek help and 
eternal salvation from the Lord, and not in anything 
we can do. Where then may we learn this ? Our own 
wisdom and strength would only hinder us. No man 
can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost. And again 
we read (Rom. 10,14) : "How then shall they call on 
Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall 
they believe in Him whom they have not heard? and 
how shall they hear without a preacher?" That is 



322 FESTIVAL OF PENTECOST. WHITSUNDAY. 

the very thing Joel is talking about, when he says: 
"In Mt. Zion and Jerusalem there shall be those that 
escape." He does not mean the mountain and city 
over there in the East, for it is plain that one might 
live there all his life and yet be a lost soul. He means 
the Church of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 
founded upon His Word and Sacrament. Here is 
that hearing by which faith cometh. Here the Holy 
Spirit dwells in the means of grace, here the Name of 
the Lord our Righteousness is declared, and the Spirit 
of God teaches all to call upon Him aright. This is 
the true Mt. Zion and Jerusalem. Here is the Lamb 
which was slain for us, whose blood cleanseth us from 
all sin. That blood we still sprinkle now again upon 
the door-posts of our hearts, as Israel did in their bet- 
ter days of faith. 

So let us keep Whitsuntide, earnestly using the 
gifts of God for our salvation. Let us be faithful in 
hearing the Word and having the Sacrament, even in 
the warm Sundays of the summer, when many fall 
away and gather no more with us. We will entreat the 
Holy Spirit to teach us more and more of the Name of 
the Lord, which means His true self and the faithful 
description of all that He is and is for us. Day by day 
He will endow us more richly with His gifts. Neither 
will we forget "all that are afar off, even as many as 
the Lord our God shall call unto Him." (Acts 2, 39.) 
We will give diligence that the Gospel may be preached 
unto them, and that they too may believe and call upon 
the Name of the Lord, and be saved. Amen. 

THE END. 





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